Influence of built environment on transit trips with different purposes: A case study of the central urban area in Jinan

A well-designed built environment promotes transit use, public health, and quality of life. This study conducted an empirical analysis of the central urban area of Jinan, considering four trip purposes: commuting, shopping, schooling, and leisure. The analysis employed the “5Ds” framework of built environment indicators in combination with binary and multinomial logistic regression models. Findings revealed substantial variation in how built environment factors shape different types of transit trips. Specifically, shopping trips were strongly associated with multifunctional commercial centers featuring high metro accessibility; commuting displayed a “U-shaped” dual-center pattern, with flows concentrated in both the urban core and suburban industrial parks; leisure travel often originated in mixed-use residential neighborhoods and extended toward open spaces; and school trips were influenced mainly by regular bus routes connecting central residential districts to suburban schools. Based on these insights, the study recommends implementing a purpose-oriented TOD model. Key priorities include strengthening the polycentric spatial structure, improving the integration of blue-green infrastructure with the public transit system, and aligning school district planning more closely with transit networks. These strategies provide theoretical guidance and practical pathways to advance “public transit priority” policies and sustainable mobility planning in Jinan and other comparable urban contexts.