Collecting Data with GPS: Those who reject, and those who receive

Most surveys using GPS devices to collect data have focused on the device and its effectiveness for collecting reliable and accurate data. Another dimension to be considered with this form of data collection is whether the people who consent to carry the GPS devices differ from those who do not. Using active or passive GPS devices for data collection entails some degree of respondent burden. Even a passive device, must be carried by the respondent and be kept charged as necessary. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that there are statistically significant differences between GPS participants and nonparticipants and consider whether differences may introduce response bias to the GPS survey. The data are from the ongoing Sydney HTS and an associated project comparing the quality of personal travel data collected through the HTS with data collected through the use of GPS devices. Because the participants in the GPS study were recruited from those who already agreed to participate in the HTS, sociodemographic characteristics of both participants and non-participants are available. Identifying potential response bias will assist in developing specialised programs to encourage participation of those most likely to refuse, raising the response rate, and reducing the response bias

Environmental Justice Applications in Transport: The International Perspective

This paper focuses on the application of environmental justice principles specifically in the transport context. It begins by giving a background of the environmental justice movement and a definition, and proceeds to describe current legislative mandates in the United States. A holistic approach to transport planning is introduced to highlight the importance of the interrelationships between transport and land use planning. Current practices adopted in terms of environmental justice are illustrated from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission report as well as a description of the data limitations that result from the models used in current analyses. The paper concludes by providing some recommendations on the areas that need to be developed to address environmental justice principles adequately, and the applicability of these principles internationally

Investigating the Effects of Different Types of Travel Information on Travellers’ Learning in a Public Transport Setting using An Experimental Approach

Investigating the Effects of Different Types of Travel Information on Travellers’ Learning in a Public Transport Setting using An Experimental Approac

Sample Size Requirements For Measuring a Change in Behaviour

Before and after surveys are designed to detect a change in travel-behaviour following an intervention policy, such as a travel-modification program. Longitudinal panel surveys are the preferred method for detecting such changes, because the variance of the difference between the before and after surveys is substantially reduced, enabling changes to be detected with smaller sample sizes than if a repeated crosssectional survey is used. A key issue concerns the size of sample required to be able to generalise the Panel results to the population; that is to state, with 95% confidence that if there is a ?% change in behaviour for the sample, there is a ?%± e% change in the behaviour of the population, where e is the sampling error. In this paper we present the rationale for an alternative formulation and demonstrate its applicability both hypothetically and then empirically using data from the Puget Sound Transportation Panel. The results have important ramifications both for those implementing future behaviour change programs and those interpreting the results reported in previous studies

Community Perceptions of ‘TravelSmart®’ Behaviour in South Australia

Despite the recent interest in changing community travel behaviours to promote sustainability, most travel behaviour change research to date has centred on a variety of health and safety issues. Insights from the psychology field have led to an alternative to information-based behaviour change campaigns known as community-based social marketing. This approach involves the identification of barriers that prevent individuals from engaging in sustainable behaviours, and the implementation of strategies ('tools') specifically targeted at addressing these perceived barriers. The recommended method for identifying barriers is to compare the frequency and strength of the perceived barriers to change from a group of individuals who are currently engaged in, and those not currently engaged in, the behaviour of interest. This study aims to contribute to travel behaviour change research by enhancing our understanding of the reasons people choose to engage or not engage in sustainable travel behaviours, such as riding public transport, walking, or riding bicycles. A secondary aim of this study is to inform the design and implementation of behaviour change programs and to enable a more strategic approach to travel behaviour change. Faceto- face interviews were conducted on a sample of 392 individuals from western Adelaide metropolitan region. Respondents were categorised according to their level of agreement with a number of key statements and discriminant analysis was conducted to discover the most important travel issues distinguishing those engaged or not engaged in that behaviour. The results suggested potentially important factors to be addressed when developing strategies for changing travel behaviour

Community Perceptions of ‘TravelSmart’ Behaviour in South Australia

Insights from psychology and marketing have recently led to an alternative to information-based behaviour change campaigns, known as community-based social marketing. The key to this approach is the identification of barriers that prevent individuals from engaging in sustainable behaviours, and the implementation of strategies (‘tools’) specifically targeted at addressing these perceived barriers. The aim of the current study was to contribute to travel behaviour change research by enhancing our understanding of the reasons people choose to engage or not engage in reducing car use. Face-to-face interviews were conducted on a sample of 392 individuals from the western Adelaide metropolitan region. The survey instrument utilised various questioning techniques such as open-ended questions, agreement scales (to attitudinal statements), and importance scales, to identify the perceived benefits and barriers to reducing car use among members of this community. The survey was conducted prior to the commencement of the TravelSmart intervention in the western suburbs of the Adelaide metropolitan region. The survey identified ‘convenience’ and the importance of ‘making small changes’ as the dominant factors distinguishing those who identify themselves as actively trying to reduce their car use from those who are not currently active in this behaviour. The results obtained from this study suggest the existence of key differences in the priorities of people who are currently active and currently inactive in reducing car use

Sustainability of voluntary travel behaviour change initiatives: A 5-year study

During the early part of the first decade of the 2000s, a number of localities in Australia introduced Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change (VTBC) initiatives, otherwise known as TravelSmart. These initiatives were all monitored in the short-term and suggested that there were reductions in person kilometres of travel (PKT) on the order of 6 to 18 percent. Beginning in 2007, the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) was asked to undertake a 5-year study to determine if the effects of TravelSmart were sustained in the longer term. This paper describes the study methodology, which was a rotating panel drawn from the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria, with panel members asked to carry a GPS device with them wherever they went for a period of 15 days in September-November each year from 2007 to 2012: six waves of panel data. All members of sampled households over the age of 14 were provided with a GPS device to carry with them. The paper reports on panel attrition and the make up for attrition. The panel covered 120 households per year, with approximately 40 households that had not participated in TravelSmart (the control group) and 80 households that had participated, with make up for attrition maintaining this split. Details of the sampling procedures are provided in the paper. The sample provided data on about 3,600 person days of travel in each wave or a total of about 20,000 person days of travel over the six waves. The paper reports on the year-by-year averages of PKT for each of the two groups and for each state and overall. It was found that, while there was some variation from year to year, in general, the treatment group continued to show lower PKT than the control group, suggesting that the changes were sustained over the study period. This is the first time that a longer-term monitoring of the effects of a VTBC has been undertaken, and is also the first one to use GPS measurements of travel to do this

Comparing two processing routines for GPS traces: Lessons learnt

This paper describes what may be one of the first side-by-side tests of two alternative software products for processing GPS traces into trips, and discusses some lessons learnt from the comparisons. For GPS to be useful as an alternative to self-report survey mechanisms, it is imperative that good processing software becomes available to reduce the data streams from the GPS devices into specific trips, with the various attributes of trips that are needed for modelling purposes. Currently, a number of agencies and researchers around the world have developed alternative software products, but none of these are generally open source, and comparisons between them are almost non-existent, although most make claims to certain levels of accuracy. In this paper, we describe an exercise in which two software products were used on the same GPS data set, following which a detailed comparison was made of the results. While it is interesting to see, overall, the accuracy differences between the two software products, what is of even more interest is the lessons that can be learnt about processing software in general. The paper draws some conclusions about the directions forward for processing software and processing routines in general

TRESIS (Transport and Environmental Strategy Impact Simulator): Application to a Case Study in NE Sydney

This paper presents an integrated microsimulation urban passenger transport model system (TRESIS) for evaluating the impact of a large number of interrelated policy instruments on urban travel behavior and the environment. The model system has four integrated modules defining household location and automobile choices, commuter workplace and commuting travel choices, non-commuting travel activity, and worker distributed work practices. The demand model system, estimated as a set of discrete and continuous choice models, is combined with a set of equilibrating criteria in each of the location, automobile and commuting markets to predict overall demand for passenger travel in various socio-economic segments, automobile classes and geographic locations. The current version has been developed to operate at a high level of aggregation for the Sydney region, comprising a 14-zone system, with a spider-web network, and is designed to explore the impacts of broad strategic directions. The model system is embedded within a decision support system to make it an attractive suite of tools for practitioners. We illustrate the usefulness of TRESIS to a major investment option in Northeast Sydney, to replace a bottleneck opening bridge with either bridge improvements together with improvements to a number of intersections on the roads serving the region, or several possible tunnel options, including different levels of tolls for the tunnels. The application of TRESIS to this case was considered a success, with the model providing useful outputs on the revenue implications of various alternative tolls, the impacts of the proposals on regional travel, and the likely effects on public transport ridership