The impact of new metro on travel behavior: Panel analysis using mobile phone data

The impact of urban rail transit on changes in various travel behavior outcomes has long been debated. However, few studies have used large-scale panel data to investigate how urban rail transit affects travel behavior. In the case of the new metros in Shenzhen, China, we constructed a four-wave panel of 7,799 residents across two years by using mobile phone data. We used a treatment-control group research design and a difference-in-differences analysis to evaluate the impact of the new metros on travel behavior in catchment areas of 0-1, 1-2, and 2-3 km, respectively. The results show that the appearance of the new metros increased the metro trips and activity space for the residents living in the 0-3 km range, but only increased total trip frequency and distance for the residents living in the 0-1 km range. New metro trips mainly replaced bike, e-bike, and bus trips, and slowed the growth trend of car trips. The findings help planners and policymakers better understand the impact of urban rail transit on the residents' mobilities.