Page 36 - IJPS-9-1

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Shouting “chin min yau lok” (stop at the front) in

a minibus: Transportation assimilation among
immigrants in Hong Kong

Skylar Biyang Sun , Xiaohang Zhao *, and Guixiang Zhang 3
2
1
1 School of International Development and Cooperation, University of International Business and
Economics, Beijing, China
2 National Institute of Social Development, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China
3 School of Law, Guizhou University, Guizhou, China

Abstract
Transportation socialization as a rising field of study has gained much attention
in traditional immigration countries, such as the United States and European
countries. Treating transportation behaviors as a routine activity, previous studies
mainly looked at the discrepancy in transportation choices between immigrants
and natives, for example, automobile usage in the U.S. By examining immigrants’
minibus ridership in Hong Kong (a unique local public transportation service) and
extending the previous theoretical thread on spatial assimilation, this study expands
the social and geographical scope of transportation assimilation to a non-traditional
immigration region and further tests the applicability of general immigration theory
on transportation socialization. Capitalizing on a large sample of pooled census
*Corresponding author:
Xiaohang Zhao data, we are the first to explore the changing pattern of immigrants’ transportation
(xiaohangzhao510@gmail.com) socialization in Hong Kong and Asia. By looking at the transportation assimilation
through individual and locational level factors, we found the pattern in Hong Kong
Citation: Sun, S.B., Zhao, X., &
Zhang G. (2023). Shouting “chin to be generally in line with the previous studies in traditional immigration countries
min yau lok” (stop at the front) in a on the individual level but not on the locational level.
minibus: Transportation assimilation
among immigrants in Hong Kong.
International Journal of Population Keywords: Transportation socialization; Hong Kong; Minibus; Immigration; Assimilation
Studies, 9(1):30-50.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.0386
Received: April 2, 2023
Accepted: April 27, 2023 1. Introduction
Published Online: May 18, 2023 Traditional studies on immigrant integration often focus on economic, social, and spatial
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). integration. Social integration often looks at intergroup communications, which would
This is an Open Access article require direct interaction between immigrants and locals. While direct interaction
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution provides strong evidence for boundary-crossing for immigrants, some less mentioned
License, permitting distribution, frequent participation in locals’ daily routine also provides information on immigrants’
and reproduction in any medium, adaption. Concerning this, transportation assimilation offers a leading example in this
provided the original work is
properly cited. field. Exploring transportation assimilation in Hong Kong, in other words, immigrants’
likelihood of choosing minibus for work journeys, this research is the first to look at
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with transportation assimilation in a non-western society.
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional The long-established mobility culture within each geographical region works
affiliations. smoothly with local residents who learned and grew with the culture throughout their

Volume 9 Issue 1 (2023) 30 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.0386