Commuting in the inner zone of the Riga agglomeration. The example of Babīte municipality

Toms Skadins

University of Latvia, Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences

DOI: 10.22364/fg.15.27

Keywords: commuting, agglomeration, Babite, Pinki, comparison

Abstract

This article focuses on characteristics of commuters that live in two villages in Babīte County – Babīte and Piņķi. A total of 310 people (comprised of working people and students) were part of a survey to analyse general characteristics of commuters and identify possible differences between the two groups. Even though Babīte County borders both the cities of Rīga and Jūrmala, the amount of commuters to Jūrmala is insignificant. The majority of commuters work or study in Rīga, and are classified as classical commuters. More people use public transportation than automobiles as their primary means of transportation due to lower expenses. The city of Rīga attracts commuters with better professional and educational opportunities. The major difference between the inhabitants of the two villages is the fact that there are 11% fewer commuters in Piņķi than in Babīte. This could be explained by better job prospects in Piņķi.