Mobility of Care in the Netherlands

‘‘Mobility of Care’’ refers to everyday travel done to perform care labor such as escorting dependents to school or appointments and shopping for household needs. Over the past decade, research has begun to examine how individuals and households divide Mobility of Care responsibilities and how this travel is different from other travel motivations, often through interviews and travel diaries. However, little research to date has attempted to quantify Mobility of Care relative to other major types of travel, or to understand how it impacts the travel modes that individuals choose. In fact, most travel surveys do not even measure “care” as a potential travel purpose. The limited studies to have addressed these issues so far find that Mobility of Care is a highly prevalent travel motivation that is performed disproportionately by women and frequently reliant on the car. The Netherlands, where cycling and walking make up a large proportion of daily mobility despite high levels of car ownership, presents a useful case in which to investigate these questions. This paper presents the results of an exploratory analysis of Mobility of Care in the Netherlands based on the 2022 Dutch National Travel Survey. Specifically, this paper develops a classification of Mobility of Care by recategorizing the travel purposes measured in the survey and then exploring who completes this type of travel and how. This is done with a focus on gender differences. A regression analysis is then done to study the extent to which Mobility of Care is a predictor of travel mode choice. Findings of this analysis indicate that Mobility of Care comprises the largest proportion of adults’ daily trips, more prevalent than travel for employment or leisure. Furthermore, women complete a greater proportion of Mobility of Care than men, a difference that holds whether or not they are employed outside the household and that increases for women with more children. Mobility of Care trips tend to be shorter than trips for other purposes and are more likely to be conducted in trip chains. Finally, Mobility of Care trips are taken most often by car and are less likely than trip for other purposes to be taken by bicycle or on foot, even considering the Netherlands’ impressive investment in cycling infrastructure and walkable urban spaces. Overall, the results highlight the importance of considering Mobility of Care as a category of travel in its own right and specifically addressing the requirements and characteristics of this type of travel when conducting transportation planning.