Browsing by Subject "Travel demand management"
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Item A joint behavioral choice model of carpool formation and frequency(2023-05-04) Verma, Vivek (M.S. in Engineering); Bhat, Chandra R. (Chandrasekhar R.), 1964-The future of transportation is often characterized by a vision of shared mobility in which multiple individuals ride in the same vehicle together. The most prevalent form of such shared personal mobility is carpooling. Despite decades of efforts to increase carpool mode shares, the share of carpooling for most travel, and especially work travel, has decreased. There is a need for a deeper understanding of the phenomenon and the drivers that influence carpool choice behavior. To this end, this paper presents an examination of carpool choice behavior with a focus on three critical dimensions of interest: frequency of carpooling, choice of companion for carpooling, and the choice of platform or method for making the carpool arrangement. Using a novel data set derived from a survey of commuters, this paper presents a simultaneous equations model of carpool frequency, companion, and formation method with a view to investigate the carpool choice phenomenon in a more holistic behavioral framework that incorporates a multitude of critical carpool choice dimensions. Results show that individuals do not embrace carpooling with strangers and do not use formal carpool programs to arrange their carpool arrangements. Model results show that a host of socio-demographics and built environment and workplace characteristics affect all three dimensions of carpool behavior. Insights from this study would help in identifying policies and technological platforms that would promote carpooling for disparate population subgroups.Item The impacts of an incentive-based intervention on peak period traffic: experience from the Netherlands(2015-12) Kumar, Vivek M.S. in Engineering; Bhat, Chandra R. (Chandrasekhar R.), 1964-; Boyles, Stephen DIncentive-based travel demand management strategies are gaining increasing attention as they are generally considered more acceptable by the traveling public and policymakers. There is limited evidence on the impacts of such schemes, and the complex behavioral traits that may affect how individuals respond to incentives aimed at shifting travel away from peak period driving. This study presents a detailed analysis and modeling effort aimed at understanding how incentives affect traveler choices using data collected from a reward-based scheme conducted in 2006 in The Netherlands. The incentive scheme analyzed in this study gave monetary reward or credits for smartphone thus nudging commuters to avoid peak period driving by alternative time of travel or mode choice. The mixed panel multinomial logit modeling approach adopted in this study is able to isolate the impacts of incentives on behavioral choices while accounting for variations in such impacts across socio-economic groups that may be due to unobserved individual preferences and constraints. The model also sheds light on the effects of behavioral inertia, where individuals are inclined to continue their past behavior even when it is no longer optimal. Finally, the study offers insights on the extent to which behavioral changes persist after the end of the incentive period. In general, it is found that incentives are effective in changing behavior and can overcome inertial effects; however, individuals largely revert to their original behavior when the rewards are eliminated, thus suggesting that incentives need to be provided for a sustained period to bring about lasting change.