Public Transportation and Destination Preferences of Hispanic Immigrants

Jamie Boydstun, Mississippi State University
Maggie Bohm, Texas Woman's University
Guangqing Chi, Mississippi State University

The objective of this study is to examine the role of commuting modes in the destination selection of Hispanic immigrants in the contiguous US. We examine the effects of driving alone, carpooling, public transit, and walking/biking on distributions of the total Hispanic population, the foreign-born Hispanic population, the naturalized foreign-born population, and the non-naturalized foreign-born Hispanic population. We used standard and spatial regression models to investigate the effects of commuting modes on Hispanic population distribution in the US. Our results suggest that carpooling and public transit function as pull factors to a place for Hispanics overall, including Hispanic immigrants. Driving alone and walking/biking function as deterrents to a place for foreign-born Hispanics, but the effect disappears when this subgroup is stratified based on citizenship status. Our findings indicate that Hispanic immigrants prefer locations with public transit and/or carpooling for commuting to work.