People's travel behaviour in a multicultural society

New Zealand in general and Auckland in particular are experiencing a significant change in population composition for the last few decades. The increasing of pacific Islanders and Asian population in Auckland makes the city becomes more multicultural than in the past. Along with population and diversity growth, travel volume in Auckland also shows a significant increase marked by an increase in the car ownership and public transport use. This paper seeks to find out the ways ethnic demographic characteristics might affect travel behaviour in a multicultural society. It uses material from two sources, Statistics New Zealand and the Ministry of Transport New Zealand. Statistics New Zealand provides details on demographic characteristics which was collected from 2006 Census of Population and Dwellings and the Ministry of Transport feeds the data which was collected from 2010 New Zealand Household Travel Survey. This study found that ethnicity does matter in terms of travel choices, travel distance and needs. For example, the NZ Europeans was the group with the highest use of cars, especially as a driver and Pacific Islanders was the largest in car use as passengers compared to other ethnic groups. The study also found that income, household structure and residential location can have a significant impact on ethnic groupsr travel behaviour. Understanding the differences in travel behaviour among ethnic groups and the possible explanations for these differences can help in the development of more appropriate policies, best suited to meet the travel needs of all population groups. As Auckland becomes more diverse over the next few decades, a significant amount of growth in travel demand will undoubtedly come from minority population. Therefore, differences in travel behaviour, such as those identified in this paper are likely to have wide-reaching consequences for short- and long-term travel demand forecast, planning, and policy development.