Modeling cross-national differences in automated vehicle acceptance

The technology that allows fully automated driving already exists and it may gradually enter the market over the forthcoming decades. Technology assimilation and automated vehicle acceptance in different countries is of high interest to many scholars, manufacturers, and policymakers worldwide. We model the mode choice between automated vehicles and conventional cars using a mixed multinomial logit heteroskedastic error component type model. Specifically, we capture preference heterogeneity assuming a continuous distribution across individuals. Different choice scenarios, based on respondents’ reported trip, were presented to respondents from six European countries: Cyprus, Hungary, Iceland, Montenegro, Slovenia, and the UK. We found that large reservations towards automated vehicles exist in all countries with 70% conventional private car choices, and 30% automated vehicles choices. We found that men, under the age of 60, with a high income who currently use private car, are more likely to be early adopters of automated vehicles. We found significant differences in automated vehicles acceptance in different countries. Individuals from Slovenia and Cyprus show higher automated vehicles acceptance while individuals from wealthier countries, UK, and Iceland, show more reservations towards them. Nontrading mode choice behaviors, value of travel time, and differences in model parameters among the different countries are discussed

Paying for parking : improving stated-preference surveys

This article describes an experiment which introduced random ranges into the variables used for the design of a stated preference survey and its effects on willingness to pay for parking. User behaviour at the time of parking was modelled to determine their willingness to pay in order to get to their final destination more quickly. Calculating willingness to pay is fundamental during the social and economic assessment of projects. It is important to correctly model how car parks and their users interact in order to get values which represent reality as closely as possible. Willingness to pay is calculated using a stated preference survey and by calibrating multinomial logit models, taking variable tastes into account. It is shown that a value with a low variability can be obtained for willingness to pay by correctly establishing the context of the choice and randomly changing the variables around an average value

EFFECT OF EMPLOYMENT SITE CHARACTERISTICS ON COMMUTE MODE CHOICE

Considerable effort has been made in recent years to resolve traffic congestion problems in metropolitan areas. The effects of employment site characteristics on commuting mode choice in the metropolitan area of Haifa, Israel, were studied. The analysis is based on trip diary data that included 4,794 commuting trips. In the first part of the investigation, the effect of different types of employment site on commuting mode choice was studied through aggregate analysis. In the second part, a four-mode multinomial model was developed. The results show a high rate of commuting by private vehicles in which the commuter is the driver. Commuters who have access to a private car are most likely to use it. High rates of commuting by bus are reported to employment sites located near the metropolitan central business district, local business employment sites, and areas with a high frequency of bus services. High rates of commuting by employer-provided transport were identified to suburban sites, industry sites, and areas with a low frequency of bus service. The research concludes that although automobile availability is the most important factor in mode choice, some employment site variables also have significant explanatory power

ABSENCE, OVERTIME, AND RELIABILITY RELATIONSHIPS IN TRANSIT WORKFORCE PLANNING

This paper examines the interrelationships between overtime, absence, and service reliability which are critical to overall transit workforce planning. In order to study the relationship between overtime and absence, a disaggregate model of absence is developed as a dynamic form of motivated behavior, a problem in time allocation across activities. The model is used to test the hypothesis that widespread availability of overtime may induce absence. Panel data of surface transit operators from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) were used with the tobit model. The results suggest that absence is more a habit than the result of a decision process based on past overtime worked. The relationship between overtime and reliability is studied using aggregate data from the MBTA bus system. Results show a strong linear relationship which makes it possible to include reliability constraints in the strategic problem by setting an upper limit on the amount of overtime that can be planned for that period

SCENARIO BUILDING AS A TOOL FOR PLANNING A SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

This paper suggests a scenario approach to identify policies that will result in a sustainable transportation system and applies the approach to explore the future development of the Tel-Aviv metropolitan area (TAMA). The authors have constructed two scenarios for the future development of the TAMA: an expected scenario and a desired scenario. The scenarios were constructed by means of a two-round Delphi expert-based survey. Based on the opinion of the experts, the research examines potential policy measures, which may contribute to a sustainable transportation system in Tel-Aviv. The development of both expected and desired scenarios helped to analyze the feasibility of the desired scenario and assess the likelihood of implementation of its different elements. Results show that a combination of policy measures is necessary in order to achieve a sustainable transportation system for the TAMA, with land uses and technological measures being vital elements, and economic and governmental measures playing a secondary role. Key elements in the desired scenario are a highly developed public transportation system, better coordination between the spatial development and the transportation system, high parking fees, congestion pricing and maintaining the functional role of the central business district. The main elements in the desired scenario are also probable, as indicated by the expected scenario. This suggests that a sustainable development of the transportation system in Tel-Aviv is a realistic vision. The Delphi method used in this study appears to be an efficient tool for long range planning