Empirical Results from Taiwan and Their Implications for Advanced Traveler Pretrip Information Systems

Abstract

A statistical analysis of travelers’ behavior is presented, and a study into the effects of pretrip information on travelers’ choice behavior is addressed. The study is based on an extensive home interview survey conducted in the Taichung metropolitan area of Taiwan. The main objectives were (a) to determine which types of information are more important to travelers; (b) to examine whether the provision of information alters the travelers’ choice behavior; (c) to relate travelers’ choice behavior, including departure time, route, and mode, to personal and travel behavior characteristics; and (d) to provide a basis for the subsequent development of a pretrip information system architecture. A binary logit model of whether a traveler switches departure time, route, mode, or any combinations of the three or does not switch after receiving traffic information is estimated. The results underscore the important relationship between the different characteristics and the propensity of travelers to change behavior. Separate binary models are developed for each of the individual trip purposes. The focus is on the urban (intraregional) trips.

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