Investigating Peri-Urban Campus Commuting Patterns: Learning from Sumatera Institute of Technology, Lampung Province, Indonesia

Abstract

This paper studies the commuting patterns of students and staff at the Sumatera Institute of Technology (ITERA), a rapidly growing university located in a peri-urban area of Lampung Province, Indonesia. The research is grounded in the understanding that peri-urban commuters face unique mobility challenges shaped by transitional land use, limited infrastructure, and high motorcycle dependency. Using both statistical and spatial analyses, the article analyzed distinct travel behaviors and their socioeconomic determinants. Findings reveal that motorcycles dominate as the primary commuting mode for both groups, driven by cultural norms and constrained public transport access. Staff exhibit higher rates of vehicle ownership and longer, more dispersed commutes, while students tend to reside closer to campus and rely on borrowed motorcycles. Temporal analysis shows structured weekday travel among staff and more flexible, weekend-active patterns among students. The findings offer targeted insights for developing sustainable transportation strategies in rapidly expanding peri-urban institutions—such as promoting bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, designing transport policies that account for widespread motorcycle borrowing among students, and differentiating mobility interventions based on the spatial dispersion and financial profiles of staff versus students.