This paperexplorestripchainingbehaviourofMelbourneresidentsusingevidencefromahousehold
travel survey.Theresearchliteraturehassuggestedthattrip-makingbehaviourhasgrownincreasingly
complexasmodernlifehasbecomebusierandpeoplegrowtime-poor.Complextripchainshavebeen
said torequireflexibletravelmodes,andforthisreasonsomeresearchhassuggestedthatpublic
transportislimitedinthisregardcomparedtotheprivatecar.Resultsofthisstudyshowthatbetween
1994 and1999thecomplexityoftripchainswasrelativelystableandthecomplexityofchainswas
foundtobelargerforrailandtramthanforcar-basedtrips.Disaggregateanalysescomparethe
complexityofchainsbasedonworkversusnon-workchains,thepurposeofstopsonthechain,and
whetherthechainenteredthecentralcityofMelbourneornot.Overallthesefindingssuggestaless
bleak outlookforpublictransportridershipinatravelfuturewhichissaidtobebecomingmore
complex.