The impact of stop-making and travel time reliability on commute mode choice

AbstractMillennials, the demographic cohort born in the last two decades of the twentieth century, are reported to adopt information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their everyday lives, including travel, to a greater extent than older generations. As ICT-driven travel-based multitasking influences travelers’ experience and satisfaction in various ways, millennials are expected to be affected at a greater scale. Still, to our knowledge, no previous studies have specifically focused on the impact of travel multitasking on travel behavior and the value of travel time (VOTT) of young adults. To address this gap, we use an original dataset collected among Northern California commuters (N = 2216) to analyze the magnitude and significance of individual and household-level factors affecting commute mode choice. We estimate a revealed-preference mode choice model and investigate the differences between millennials and older adults in the sample. Additionally, we conduct a sensitivity analysis to explore how incorporation of explanatory factors such as attitudes and propensity to multitask while traveling in mode choice models affects coefficient estimates, VOTT, and willingness to pay to use a laptop on the commute. Compared to non-millennials, the mode choice of millennials is found to be less affected by socio-economic characteristics and more strongly influenced by the activities performed while traveling. Young adults are found to have lower VOTT than older adults for both in-vehicle (15.0% less) and out-of-vehicle travel time (15.7% less), and higher willingness to pay (in time or money) to use a laptop, even after controlling for demographic traits, personal attitudes, and the propensity to multitask. This study contributes to better understanding the commuting behavior of millennials, and the factors affecting it, a topic of interest to transportation researchers, planners, and practitioners.

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Examining the Impact of Adverse Weather on Travel Time Reliability of Urban Corridors in Shanghai

Journal of Advanced Transportation ◽

10.1155/2020/8860277 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Yajie Zou ◽

Ting Zhu ◽

Yifan Xie ◽

Linbo Li ◽

Ying Chen

Keyword(s):

Travel Time ◽

Weather Condition ◽

Time Of Day ◽

Weather Data ◽

Time Variability ◽

Travel Time Reliability ◽

Time Data ◽

Adverse Weather Condition ◽

Adverse Weather ◽

The Impact

Travel time reliability (TTR) is widely used to evaluate transportation system performance. Adverse weather condition is an important factor for affecting TTR, which can cause traffic congestions and crashes. Considering the traffic characteristics under different traffic conditions, it is necessary to explore the impact of adverse weather on TTR under different conditions. This study conducted an empirical travel time analysis using traffic data and weather data collected on Yanan corridor in Shanghai. The travel time distributions were analysed under different roadway types, weather, and time of day. Four typical scenarios (i.e., peak hours and off-peak hours on elevated expressway, peak hours and off-peak hours on arterial road) were considered in the TTR analysis. Four measures were calculated to evaluate the impact of adverse weather on TTR. The results indicated that the lognormal distribution is preferred for describing the travel time data. Compared with off-peak hours, the impact of adverse weather is more significant for peak hours. The travel time variability, buffer time index, misery index, and frequency of congestion increased by an average of 29%, 19%, 22%, and 63%, respectively, under the adverse weather condition. The findings in this study are useful for transportation management agencies to design traffic control strategies when adverse weather occurs.

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Modelling the impact of traffic incidents on travel time reliability

10.14264/uql.2014.492 ◽

2014 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ahmad Tavassoli Hojati

Keyword(s):

Travel Time ◽

Travel Time Reliability ◽

Traffic Incidents ◽

The Impact

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Illustrating the Monetary Impact of Transportation Projects/Alternatives using the Values of Travel Time and Travel Time Reliability

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.1177/0361198118790378 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2672 (51) ◽

pp. 88-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Venkata R. Duddu ◽

Srinivas S. Pulugurtha ◽

Praveena Penmetsa

Keyword(s):

Travel Time ◽

Cost Benefit Analysis ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

Transportation Systems ◽

Travel Time Reliability ◽

Benefit Analysis ◽

Transportation Projects ◽

Travel Time Savings ◽

Time Savings ◽

The Impact

State agencies, regional agencies, cities, towns, and local municipalities design and maintain transportation systems for the benefit of users by improving mobility, reducing travel time, and enhancing safety. Cost–benefit analysis based on travel time savings and the value of reliability helps these agencies in prioritizing transportation projects or when evaluating transportation alternatives. This paper illustrates the use of monetary values of travel time savings and travel time reliability, computed for the state of North Carolina, to help assess the impact of transportation projects or alternatives. The results obtained indicate that, based on the illustration of the effect and impact of various transportation projects or alternatives, both improved travel time and reliability on roads yield significant monetary benefits. However, from cost–benefit analysis, it is observed that greater benefits can be achieved through improved reliability compared with benefits from a decrease in travel time for a given section of road.

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Evaluating the Impact of Highway-Railway Grade Crossings on Travel Time Reliability on a Highway Network Level

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.1177/0361198118792756 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2672 (10) ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zifeng Wu ◽

Laurence R. Rilett ◽

Yifeng Chen

Keyword(s):

Travel Time ◽

Traffic Information ◽

Area Network ◽

Travel Time Reliability ◽

Highway Traffic ◽

Time Data ◽

Highway Network ◽

Grade Crossings ◽

The Impact ◽

Series Systems

Highway-rail grade crossings (HRGCs) have a range of safety and operational impacts on highway traffic networks. This paper illustrates a methodology for evaluating travel-time reliability for the routes and networks affected by trains traveling through HRGCs. A sub-area network including three HRGCs is used as the study network, and a simulation model calibrated to local traffic conditions and signal preemption strategies using field data is used as the platform to generate travel time data for analysis. Time-dependent reliability intervals for route travel time are generated based on route travel-time means and standard deviations. OD level reliability is calculated using a generic reliability engineering approach for parallel and series systems. The route travel time reliability results can be provided as real-time traffic information to assist drivers’ route-choice decisions. The OD level reliability is a way to quantify the impact of HRGCs on highway network operation. This effort fills the gap of reliability research for HRGCs on the route and sub-area network level, and contributes to improving the efficiency of decision-making for both traffic engineers and drivers.

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Quantifying the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Passenger Vehicle Drivers’ Willingness to Pay for Travel Time Savings and Reliability

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.1177/03611981211038885 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 036119812110388

Author(s):

Tristan Cherry ◽

Mark Fowler ◽

Claire Goldhammer ◽

Jeong Yun Kweun ◽

Thomas Sherman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Willingness To Pay ◽

Travel Time ◽

Travel Behavior ◽

Local Governments ◽

Consumer Preferences ◽

Stated Preference ◽

Travel Time Reliability ◽

Travel Time Savings ◽

Time Savings ◽

The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally disrupted travel behavior and consumer preferences. To slow the spread of the virus, public health officials and state and local governments issued stay-at-home orders and, among other actions, closed nonessential businesses and educational facilities. The resulting recessionary effects have been particularly acute for U.S. toll roads, with an observed year-over-year decline in traffic and revenue of 50% to 90% in April and May 2020. These disruptions have also led to changes in the types of trip that travelers make and their frequency, their choice of travel mode, and their willingness to pay tolls for travel time savings and travel time reliability. This paper describes the results of travel behavior research conducted on behalf of the Virginia Department of Transportation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the National Capital Region of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia. The research included a stated preference survey to estimate travelers’ willingness to pay for travel time savings and travel time reliability, to support forecasts of traffic and revenue for existing and proposed toll corridors. The survey collected data between December 2019 and June 2020. A comparison of the data collected before and during the pandemic shows widespread changes in travel behavior and a reduction in willingness to pay for travel time savings and travel time reliability across all traveler types, particularly for drivers making trips to or from work. These findings have significant implications for the return of travelers to toll corridors in the region and future forecasts of traffic and revenue.

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Passenger Travel Time Reliability for Multimodal Public Transport Journeys

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.1177/0361198118825459 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2673 (2) ◽

pp. 149-160 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Malvika Dixit ◽

Ties Brands ◽

Niels van Oort ◽

Oded Cats ◽

Serge Hoogendoorn

Keyword(s):

Travel Time ◽

Network Reliability ◽

Real Life ◽

Travel Time Reliability ◽

Behavioral Models ◽

Buffer Time ◽

Passenger Travel ◽

Departure Time Choice ◽

Multiple Routes ◽

The Impact

Urban transit networks typically consist of multiple modes and the journeys may involve a transfer within or across modes. Therefore, the passenger experience of travel time reliability is based on the whole journey experience including the transfers. Although the impact of transfers on reliability has been highlighted in the literature, the existing indicators either focus on unimodal transfers only or fail to include all components of travel time in reliability measurement. This study extends the existing “reliability buffer time” metric to transit journeys with multimodal transfers and develops a methodology to calculate it using a combination of smartcard and automatic vehicle location data. The developed methodology is applied to a real-life case study for the Amsterdam transit network consisting of bus, metro, and tram lines. By using a consistent method for all journeys in the network, reliability can be compared between different transit modes or between multiple routes for the same origin–destination pair. The developed metric can be used to study the reliability impacts of policies affecting multiple transit modes. It can also be used as an input to behavioral models such as mode, route, or departure time choice models.

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