People don't use the shortest path

Most recent route choice models, following either Random Utility Maximization or rule-based paradigm, require explicit enumeration of feasible routes. The quality of model estimation and prediction is sensitive to the appropriateness of consideration set. However, few empirical studies of revealed route characteristics have been reported in the literature. Such study could also help practitioners and researchers evaluate widely applied shortest path assumptions. This study aims at bridging the gap by evaluating morning commute routes followed by residents at the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Accurate GPS and GIS data were employed to reveal routes people utilized. Findings from this study could also provide guidance for future efforts in building better travel demand models.Rationality, travel behavior, transport geography, commuting, transportation networks

Tour recommendation for groups

Consider a group of people who are visiting a major touristic city, such as NY, Paris, or Rome. It is reasonable to assume that each member of the group has his or her own interests or preferences about places to visit, which in general may differ from those of other members. Still, people almost always want to hang out together and so the following question naturally arises: What is the best tour that the group could perform together in the city? This problem underpins several challenges, ranging from understanding people’s expected attitudes towards potential points of interest, to modeling and providing good and viable solutions. Formulating this problem is challenging because of multiple competing objectives. For example, making the entire group as happy as possible in general conflicts with the objective that no member becomes disappointed. In this paper, we address the algorithmic implications of the above problem, by providing various formulations that take into account the overall group as well as the individual satisfaction and the length of the tour. We then study the computational complexity of these formulations, we provide effective and efficient practical algorithms, and, finally, we evaluate them on datasets constructed from real city data

Transforming payment choices by doubling fees on the Illinois tollway

Rising traffic congestion and the need to improve operational efficiency prompted the Illinois Tollway Authority to unveil plans to reconfigure its road network for “stop-free” electronic toll collection. Committing to an extensive construction program would have required the Tollway to ensure that enough drivers had electronic payment devices (branded as I- PASS). Conversely, without reconfigured toll gates the drivers would have had less reason to own an I-PASS. To resolve this potentially thorny chicken-and-egg problem, the Tollway put in place a new I-PASS distribution network and then dramatically raised the price for cash toll payments. This paper focuses on consumer response to the change in relative prices. Using tollway traffic data, we document a substantial aggregate increase in electronic toll payments. The propensity to pay electronically rose uniformly throughout the day, reflecting the effectiveness of the Tollway’s actions in modifying behavior of both commuters and leisure drivers. ; However, not all drivers appear to have responded to the price change per se. To analyze the relative importance of price, income, and fixed participation costs we use the Census tract level data on employment and residential location to construct a ZIP-code measure of the likelihood of commuting to work via the tollway. Conditional on this measure, we show that the adoption of electronic payments among lower-income households was indeed influenced by the price change. In contrast, high- and medium-income households responded to lower fixed costs of obtaining I-PASS at conveniently located supermarkets. Finally, we document the role of social network relationships, as changes in I-PASS ownership for all income groups were strongly affected by I-PASS use among neighbors and co- workers.Toll roads ; Toll roads - Illinois

Public Use of an Online Advanced Traveler Guidance Information System: Trust in the e-Service and the Agency

Public transit system web sites have become a tool of choice for many citizens to obtain transit route information and to assist with trip planning. For many of these citizens, the web interface has become the only method of communication with the public service agency and the primary method of obtaining information about transit services. This model-based, multi-method study analyzes of data from more than 450 survey respondents and 155 focus group participants, seeks to understand the end user citizen trust experience in their interaction with e-government transit web sites. Results of this e-service study provide useful insights into how citizen perceptions of the transit service and transit agencies are affected through web site e-service use