Urban form,travel time,and cost relationships with tour complexity and mode choice

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate how relative associations between travel time, costs, and land use patterns where people live and work impact modal choice and trip chaining patterns in the Central Puget Sound (Seattle) region. By using a tour-based modeling framework and highly detailed land use and travel data, this study attempts to add detail on the specific land use changes necessary to address different types of travel, and to develop a comparative framework by which the relative impact of travel time and urban form changes can be assessed. A discrete choice modeling framework adjusted for demographic factors and assessed the relative effect of travel time, costs, and urban form on mode choice and trip chaining characteristics for the three tour types. The tour based modeling approach increased the ability to understand the relative contribution of urban form, time, and costs in explaining mode choice and tour complexity for home and work related travel. Urban form at residential and employment locations, and travel time and cost were significant predictors of travel choice. Travel time was the strongest predictor of mode choice while urban form the strongest predictor of the number of stops within a tour. Results show that reductions in highway travel time are associated with less transit use and walking. Land use patterns where respondents work predicted mode choice for mid day and journey to work travel.

T. Keith LawtonEmail:

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Lawrence Frank   is an Associate Professor and Bombardier Chair in Sustainable Transportation at the University of British Columbia and a Senior Non-Resident Fellow of the Brookings Institution and Principal of Lawrence Frank and Company. He has a PhD in Urban Design and Planning from the University of Washington. Mark Bradley   is Principal, Mark Bradley Research & Consulting, Santa Barbara California. He has a Master of Science in Systems Simulation and Policy Design from the Dartmouth School of Engineering and designs forecasting and simulation models for assessment of market-based policies and strategies. Sarah Kavage   is a Senior Transportation Planner and Special Projects Manager at Lawrence Frank and Company. She has a Masters in Urban Design and Planning from the University of Washington and is a writer and an artist based in Seattle. James Chapman   is a Principal Transportation Planner and Analyst at Lawrence Frank and Company in Atlanta Georgia. He has a Masters in Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. T. Keith Lawton   transport modeling consultant and past Director of Technical services, Metro Planning Department, Portland, OR, has been active in model development for over 40 years. He has a BSc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Natal (South Africa), and an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Duke University. He is a member and past Chair of the TRB Committee on Passenger Travel Demand Forecasting.