Travel Demand

Travinfo Evaluation: Traveler Response Element Broad Area Study

Yim, Y. B.
Hall, R.
Weissenberger, S.
1997

This paper presents the preliminary findings of a first wave Broad Area survey, administered in November 1995, of the TravInfo Field Operation Test in the San Francisco Bay Area. The purpose of the survey was to define baseline attitudes, opinions and travel behavior of travelers for assessment of the general impact of TravInfo. Questions focused on trip characteristics, acquisition patterns of information, effects of traffic information on travel behavior and the demographic profiles of Bay Area travelers.

Demand-Responsive Transit Shuttles: Who Will Use Them?

Anspacher, David
Khattak, Asad J.
Yim, Youngbin
2004

Large urban areas often have rail systems that rely on feeder buses to expand their service area. This paper explores the possibility of expanding access to existing rail transit systems through demand-responsive shuttles. The study analyzes the effect of several factors on an individual's willingness to use a door-to-station shuttle service. Using survey data collected in a case study of one urban and one suburban neighborhood (N=800) served by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit, this paper uses descriptive statistics and ordered logit regression to investigate the influence of...

Daily Activity and Multimodal Travel Planner: Phase 1 Report

Kitamura, Ryuichi
Chen, Cynthia
1998

Travel constitutes an integral part of our daily life. Only by traveling are we able to engage in a variety of activities at different locations. Since the extension of our movement is restricted by the amount of time that is available and the speed with which we can move, it is important that our travel be efficiently organized such that the time resource can be best utilized to engage in activities in an efficient manner. One approach to achieving this is to choose less congested and faster routes. The use of in-vehicle advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) for this purpose has...

TravInfo Evaluation: Traveler Response Element; TravInfo 817-1717 Caller Study; Phase 2 Results

Koo, Ronald
Yim, Y. B.
2001

TravInfo was a federally funded Field Operational Test (FOT) of the Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) in the San Francisco Bay Area. The general public can obtain most current traveler information through TravInfo's Traveler Advisory Telephone System (TATS) and privately offered information services including traffic Web sites. As part of the TravInfo FOT Evaluation, two waves of TATS callers were surveyed. The first wave of the TATS caller survey was conducted in April 1997. The second wave TATS caller survey was completed in April 1999. This paper presents the findings of the...

Advancing the Science of Travel Demand Forecasting

Walker, Joan L.
Chatman, Daniel
Daziano, Ricardo
Erhardt, Gregory
Gao, Song
Mahmassani, Hani
Ory, David
Sall, Elizabeth
Bhat, Chandra
Chim, Nicholas
Daniels, Clint
Gardner, Brian
Kressner, Josephine
Miller, Eric
Pereira, Francisco
Picado, Rosella
Hess, Stephane
Axhausen, Kay
Bareinboim, Elias
2019

Travel demand forecasting models play an important role in guiding policy, planning, and design of transportation systems. There is no shortage of literature critiquing the accuracy of model forecasts (see, for example, Pickrell, 1989; Wachs, 1990; Pickrell, 1992; Flyvbjerg, Skamris Holm, and Buhl 2005; Richmond, 2005; Flyvbjerg, 2007; Bain, 2009; Parthasarathi and Levinson, 2010; Welde and Odeck, 2011; Hartgen, 2013; Nicolaisen and Driscoll, 2014; Schmitt, 2016; Odeck and Welde, 2017, and Voulgaris, 2019), not to mention several high-profile lawsuits (Saulwick 2014, Stacey 2015, Rubin...

A Futures Market for Demand Responsive Travel Pricing

Fournier, Nicholas, PhD
Patire, Anthony, PhD
Skabardonis, Alexander, PhD
2023

Dynamic toll pricing based on demand can increase transportation revenue while also incentivizing travelers to avoid peak traffic periods. However, given the unpredictable nature of traffic, travelers lack the information necessary to accurately predict congestion, so dynamic pricing has minimal effect on demand. Dynamic toll pricing also poses equity concerns for those who lack other travel options. This research explores a potential remedy to these concerns by using a simple “futures market” pricing mechanism in which travelers can lock in a toll price for expected trips by prepaying for...

Transit-Based Smart Parking in the San Francisco Bay Area: an Assessment of User Demand and Behavioral Effects

Rodier, Caroline J.
Shaheen, Susan A.
Eaken, Amanda M.
2004

This paper presents early findings from an application of advanced parking technologies to increase effective parking capacity at a transit station during the first half of 2004 in the San Francisco Bay Area (CA). It begins with an extensive review of the literature related to transit-based smart parking management systems to illustrate the range of system configurations and their potential travel, economic, and environmental effects. Two important conclusions from this review are: (1) lack of parking spaces at transit stations may be a significant constraint to transit use and (2) pre-...

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Mobility Needs of an Aging Population in Contra Costa County

Ragland, David R, PhD, MPH
Schor, Glenn, PhD, MPH
Felschundneff, Grace
2020

In 2018, SafeTREC conducted a survey on transportation mobility issues among older adults in California. A follow-up survey planned for 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic changed life for all residents, was redesigned to assess mobility needs and changes during the Shelter-in-Place order and focused on COVID-19 impacts. Results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent Shelter-in-Place order have had a major impact on senior mobility. Communications for many were restricted to phone, email, texts, social media and video chats. Among those with a medical problem, just over 60%...

Vehicle Manufacturing Futures in Transportation Life-cycle Assessment

Chester, Mikhail
Horvath, Arpad
2011

Vehicle manufacturing effects are critical life-cycle components in the total costs of vehicle travel and future manufacturing processes should be evaluated for travel forecasts. With efforts to introduce lightweight materials, increased fuel economy, and new technologies such as electric vehicles, understanding the energy and environmental effects of these expected vehicles is critical. Current vehicle manufacturing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are summarized from existing research for passenger (conventional gasoline vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, aircraft, high-speed...

The General Transit Feed Specification Makes Trip-Planning Easier — Especially During a Pandemic — Yet its Use by California Agencies is Uneven

Frick, Karen Trapenberg, PhD
Kumar, Tanu, PhD
Li, Ruyin
Patil, Atharva
Post, Alison, PhD
2020

Developed in 2005, the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) is making transit trip planning easier by allowing public transportation agencies to share transit schedules in an electronic format that can be used by a variety of trip-planning applications, such as Google Maps. The GTFS can be used to share static transit schedules (GTFS-s) or provide real-time information on transit vehicle arrivals and departures (GTFS-r). Providing real-time updates has proven to be exceptionally valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, between January 13th and April 25th of this year Apple...