Calibration and Validation of Quick Response Forecasting Parameters for Cities in Rural Counties of South Carolina

Quick response travel forecasting techniques have been applied extensively since they became prevalent in the late 1970s. These techniques involve using transferable parameters developed from survey and other empirical data to assist transportation planners to model small urban areas with populations greater than 50,000. The usefulness of the quick response techniques and parameters that are currently in wide application are questionable for cities in rural counties because they were not originally designed for use in areas with populations of fewer than 50,000 people. The research described addresses a critical need for planning tools oriented to smaller cities. This project focused on developing transferable travel demand forecasting parameters that targeted areas of the state of South Carolina with diverse populations and per capita incomes lower than the national average. The findings of this project should allow planners throughout rural areas of South Carolina and similar states to make more reliable estimates of future traffic identified in long-range plans. The calibrated parameters also should be useful for cities in other states that have fewer than 50,000 people and that have demographic and socioeconomic characteristics similar to those of the cities that were modeled as part of this research.