Travel Behavior

Integrating a Comprehensive Modal Emissions Model into ATMIS Transportation Modeling Frameworks

Barth, Matthew
Malcom, Carrie
Scora, George
2001

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) have generated considerable enthusiasm in the transportation community as a potential means to improve roadway safety, reduce congestion, enhance the mobility of people and goods, and reduce energy consumption and vehicle emissions. In order to estimate these potential benefits, new and improved analytical techniques and simulation models are being developed for ITS. In terms of environmental effects, the University of California, Riverside, College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) has developed a...

SmartAHS and SHIFT Enhancements, Persistence and Query Interpretation

Misener, Jim
2000

We have enhanced and "tuned" SmartAHS and SHIFT to address a wide variety of functional and user needs. SmartAHS has become an important microsimulation tool for design, analysis and evaluation of AHS - and "pre-AHS" or AHS deployment - concepts and scenarios in dimensions of system performance (i.e., throughput and travel time), safety and comfort. The SmartAHS/Hybrid Systems Tools Interface Format (SHIFT) is the basis for SmartAHS, and it is the general hybrid systems simulator for user-defined AHS architectures.

Urban Transport, Environment and Equity/Informal Transport in the Developing World

Rodriguez, DA
2002

The books Urban Transport, Environment and Equity by Eduardo Vasconcellos, and Informal Transport in the Developing World by Robert Cervero, are reviewed.

Examining Individuals' Desire for Shorter Commute: The Case of Proximate Commuting

Rodriguez, DA
2002

Much of the theoretical and empirical debate about transport and land-use planning has focused upon the strength and vitality of the connection between the two. Studies increasingly find that this connection is weakening and thus attempts to address urban transport problems with land-use policies are ineffective. The author introduces proximate commuting, a novel employer-based program that decreases urban commuting by providing marginal accessibility improvements to its participants. With the aid of a case study involving a commercial bank in the Western Detroit Metropolitan Area,...

The Relationship Between Non-Motorized Mode Choice and the Local Physical Environment

Rodrı́guez, DA
Joo, J
2004

By estimating multinomial choice models, this paper examines the relationship between travel mode choice and attributes of the local physical environment such as topography, sidewalk availability, residential density, and the presence of walking and cycling paths. Data for student and staff commuters to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill are used to illustrate the relationship between mode choice and the objectively measured environmental attributes, while accounting for typical modal characteristics such as travel time, access time, and out-of-pocket cost. Results...

Spatial Choices and Excess Commuting: A Case Study of Bank Tellers in Bogota, Colombia

Rodrı́guez, DA
2004

This study uses disaggregate data from Bogotá, Colombia to examine the presumption that individuals engaging in excess commuting have satisfactorily traded commuting for other location benefits. By estimating involuntary and voluntary excess commuting, the study illustrates that deviations from the minimum commute implied by the urban spatial structure are expected due to temporal and structural constraints, even when the journey-to-work is a household’s only locational concern. Therefore, the usefulness of excess commuting estimates for informing policy choices hinging on the...

The Impact of Neo-Traditional Neighborhood Developments on Travel Behavior

Khattak, AJ
Rodriguez, DA
2004

Although previous research has supported the view that neo-traditional or new urbanist designs result in more walking activity, several questions remain: Do residents of these neighborhoods substitute walking for driving trips, or do they make more trips overall? What is the role of self-selection of residents in these developments? This paper aims to address these questions by examining differences in travel behavior in a matched pair of neighborhoods (one conventional and one neo-traditional) in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, North Carolina. A detailed behavioral survey of 453 households and...

Travel Behavior in Neo-Traditional Neighborhood Developments: A Case Study in USA

Khattak, AJ
Rodriguez, D
2005
Although previous research has supported the view that neo-traditional or new urbanist designs result in more walking activity, several questions remain: Do residents of these neighborhoods substitute walking for driving trips, or do they make more trips overall? What is the role of self-selection of residents in these developments? This paper aims to address these questions by examining differences in travel behavior in a matched pair of neighborhoods (one conventional and one neo-traditional) in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, North Carolina. A detailed behavioral survey of 453 households and two...

An Evaluation of the Accessibility Benefits of Commuter Rail in Eastern Massachusetts Using Spatial Hedonic Price Functions

Armstrong, RJ
Rodriguez, DA
2006

We estimate spatial hedonic price functions to examine local and regional accessibility benefits of commuter rail service in Eastern Massachusetts, while controlling for proximity-related negative externalities and other confounding influences. The data include 1,860 single-family residential properties from four municipalities with commuter rail service, and three municipalities without commuter rail service. We find some evidence of the capitalization of accessibility to commuter rail stations. Two model specifications suggest that properties located in municipalities with commuter...

Drive or walk? Utilitarian Trips Within a Neotraditional Neighborhood

Shay, E
Fan, Y
Rodriguez, DA
Khattak, AJ
2006

An extensive body of literature has developed on the relationship between the physical environment and travel behavior. Although many studies have found that neotraditional neighborhood development supports nonautomobile travel by providing good street connectivity, pedestrian and cycling facilities, and internal destinations, questions remain about the travel behavior of individuals within such neighborhoods. This study uses travel diaries to examine utilitarian trip-making behavior within a neotraditional neighborhood and compares total trips with mode-specific (i.e., walk and...