Travlnfo Field Operational Test Evaluation: Target Study Final Results

This paper presents the final results of the Target Study conducted for the evaluation of the Travinfo Field Operational Test. Four waves of telephone surveys were conducted in 1997 and 1998 among commuters shortly after major incidents on a selected corridor. The case study corridor is a 16 mile segment of US 101 serving major cities between San Francisco and San Jose.The commuter surveys were aimed at an understanding of travel behavior when major incidents occur. The results of the surveys suggest that traveler behavior is not greatly affected by individual incidents causing delays of less than 15 minutes. Although a fair portion of commuters listen to radio traffic reports, they do not often modify their travel behavior in response. In general, commuters do not believe that changing their travel plans will result in shorter travel time. Commuters tend to believe that their normal travel plans are faster than or as fast as alternate plans; however, they value traffic information more for the intangible benefits, such as the ability to reduce anxiety or stress. A 12 minute delay for a 35 minute commute might not be a strong enough incentive to shift mode or switch route because alternatives would not necessarily offer shorter travel time when encountering congestion due to an incident.