The Connected Traveller - Factors affecting travel behaviour on an individual and network level

Despite fast technological developments, there is still insufficient knowledge on the complex relations between travel information usage and the effects on travel behaviour. When more knowledge is available on information usage, it is easier to meet travellers’ needs in the development of new information systems. Moreover, more insights can be developed in the possible effects of specific information on travel flows and eventually on ways to improve the regulation of these flows. Hence, the principle aim of this project was to develop insights in the most important factors defining individual travel behaviour, as well as the effects of individual choices on traffic networks. Based on the literature factors were categorized at different levels: - the traveller (socio-economic variables, cognitive variables, personality, trip motive, experience & familiarity), - the traffic environment (route type and –reliability, alternatives, travel time & distance, costs), - information (quality, type) and - context (weather, parking facilities). Findings indicate that many factors affect route choice, implicating that route choice may be highly manageable. Nevertheless, the use of travel information as well as route change in response to travel information shows large variations and seems in general to be limited. A possible cause can be the difficulty to meet the great diversity in individual preferences. A feasible solution is to subdivide travellers in groups with corresponding travel behaviour, in order to define information criteria with which the largest effects (concerning information use and effects on travel behaviour) can be obtained. A survey was conducted to assess how different categories of travellers, according to their personal mobility preferences and ideals, value factors affecting travel choice. These findings indicate that, in general, differences in personal mobility preferences do not affect the evaluation of factors directly transport related, such as distance and route alternatives. On the other hand, travellers who evaluate ‘environment’ and ‘personal health’ (i.e. more indirect factors) as more positive, use more often Public Transport or a bicycle. This indicates that modality choices are especially affected by opinions and ideas concerning mobility. On a network level the type of travel choice for which the value of information is highest, are route choice and travel time choice. Despite the fact that some knowledge exists on the network effects of information on DRIPs, few data are available on effects of other types of information (e.g.: via navigation systems). The assumed effects of travel information on the choice of transport mode, location and activity are limited.Despite the fact that quite some knowledge exists on what specific type of information travelers prefer (e.g.: prescriptive, route duration), the quantitative knowledge on the ranking and interaction of different individual factors seem to largely unknown.
This knowledge is necessary to further develop applications and solutions. Also reliably modeling network effects requires in-depth knowledge on these effects.