UTSG Paper Template

Abstract Student mobility is often considered with respect to where students choose to go to university and how this relates to their current or familial home. Their routine mobilities, with a few notable exceptions, have received limited attention and how their semi-permanent migration influences their infrequent and routine mobilities has received even less consideration. Yet many students are at an age where travel patterns are formed, influenced by the opportunities provided by the choice to live independently and the opportunity to attain a driving licence and less traditional students will have other influences upon travel behaviour. This paper starts the process of redressing this balance. It is based on a survey response from 1,049 students from 17 universities across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Firstly, it examines the attitudinal influences upon university choice through principal component analysis; secondly, it explores the geographical spread of the universities which the students considered to understand the extent to which student attitudes influenced the potential and actual mobility; thirdly, the actual university and travel choices made will be summarised considering both routine and infrequent journeys from a student's term time or permanent address and, where applicable journeys to their familial or another address, finally regression analysis will be applied to examine the attitudinal and other influences upon university choice and the energy implications of the mode and travel choices will be estimated. This paper will conclude by highlighting the potential for future research to better understand the administrative, university, and individual influences upon student infrequent and routine mobility