Job-induced multilocational living arrangements: mobility behaviour, importance of accessability and residential location

Job-induced commuting between two residences has attracted increasing interest in science and the public in the last couple of years. However, data on mobility behaviour of multilocational households are hardly available. This article describes and tries to explain the spatiotemporal configuration of multilocational households and the individual mobility behaviour by means of multivariate comparison group analysis. To sum up the main results, job-induced multilocational living arrangements are predominantly male. The majority of the respondents commute weekly between the residences. Female commuters more often take turns commuting with their partner and therefore practice an alternating commuting arrangement. The job-related secondary residences of commuters are dispersed in different residential areas of the city similar to the accommodation of young and inter-regional very mobile employed people in unilocal households. The accessibility of high speed networks (motorways, long distance railway lines) is of higher importance for a multilocational household organisation than it is for unilocal households. Shorter work trips play a prominent role for inner city accommodation at the secondary residence. However, features of the residential environment are more important for residential choices at the secondary residence than locational aspects.