Synchronization of home departure and arrival times in dual earner households with children: Panel regression model of time gaps

Organizing schedules and allocating time to different activities is always a challenge in dual-earner households, especially when they have children. Parents may need to link their schedule to those of their children to allow them escorting their children to school or to take care or be with their children at home. This paper reports the results of an analysis of the degree of synchronization of home departure and arrival times in dual earner households with children, where the degree of synchronization is defined as the gap between departure and arrival times of a parent and child. Using activity-travel diary data of different household members, a random parameters regression model is estimated to examine differences in time gaps in home departure and arrival times between parents and children as a function of gender, day of the week, age of the youngest child, and other socio-demographic characteristics. The results of the analysis provide insight into factors influencing the degree of synchronization and coordination of double activity-travel scheduling decisions in households with children. Findings indicate that gender, number of children in the household, age of the youngest child, travel within or outside peak hours, day of the week, transport mode used for the work commute and household income level significantly affect time gaps, especially arrival time gaps.