Redai dili (May 2024)
Temporal Heterogeneity and Impact Mechanism of Intercity Travel Time in the Yangtze River Delta Region
Abstract
Under the influence of information technology and high-speed transportation networks, which compress space and time, the region's population has achieved large-scale fluidity. Examining the temporal heterogeneity of intercity travel networks and its influencing mechanism can help optimize regional spatial organization and provide a scientific basis for regional integrated development. Based on Baidu migration data from January to April 2023, this study uses a PPML(Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood) gravity model and interaction term testing to compare the scale, pattern, and influencing factors of intercity travel networks during weekdays, weekends, and holidays in the Yangtze River Delta region. The results indicate the following: 1) The intercity travel network in the Yangtze River Delta region exhibits temporal heterogeneity characteristics. During weekdays, intercity travel primarily consists of cross-city commuting and business trips, with the lowest daily average scale. This forms a V-shaped intercity travel structure covering Shanghai, southern Jiangsu, Northern Zhejiang, and Southern Anhui. The positive effects of destination city population size and economic status on intercity travel are enhanced. On weekends, intercity travel is dominated by business trips and leisure activities, and residents tend to take shorter trips, which means that intercity distances pose greater hindrances to intercity travel. During holidays, intercity travel is primarily for leisure and entertainment and for visiting friends and relatives, with the highest daily intensity. The promotional effect of destination city population size on intercity travel is weakened, and intercity travel is less hindered by intercity distances. Compared to the effects of geographical distance, economic status, and population size on the scale of intercity travel during weekdays, travel duration, or geographical distance, tends to pose a greater hindrance on weekends and a lesser hindrance during holidays. The promotional effect of economic status is intensified on weekends but diminishes during holidays. Meanwhile, the promotional effect of population size weakens both on weekends and during holidays. 2) Push-pull factors encompass the level of urban development and the incentives that trigger individual travel. In terms of urban development level, indicators such as population size, economic status, and industrial structure reflect the comprehensive strength and development status of a city, influencing its ability to serve as both a starting and destination point for intercity travel. From the perspective of various individual travel incentives, residents pay more attention to various urban resources such as income levels, public service quality, and tourism resources to meet their personal needs for production and living. The primary types of population movements vary across different time periods, shifting between cross-city commuting, business travel, and leisure and entertainment. As a result, the dominant factors among push-pull elements also change, leading to significant variations in the effectiveness of each factor. Intermediate obstacles are the key factors limiting intercity travel. On the one hand, while the level of integration in the Yangtze River Delta region continues to improve, and transportation facilities are gradually improving, geographical distance remains a crucial intermediate obstacle. On the other hand, administrative and cultural differences between different provinces increase residents' adaptation costs, forming "invisible barriers" that hinder cross-province population interactions. The hindrance posed by intermediate obstacles to intercity travel also varies across different travel periods. The effects of push-pull factors exhibit temporal heterogeneity. The small-world characteristics of the intercity travel network during weekdays are more evident, and the central city has a more prominent structural core status. On weekends, the geographical proximity of the intercity travel network improves, with close "center-hinterland" connections and enhanced inter-provincial boundary effects. During holidays, the overall intensity of the intercity travel network increases, with the most significant increase in medium- and long-distance cross-provincial travel. The provincial boundary effect and spatial proximity effect decrease, weakening the structure of the intercity travel network.
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