QUALITY-OF-SERVICE PERCEPTIONS BY RURAL FREEWAY TRAVELERS: EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS

In recent years the Transportation Research Board's Highway Capacity and Quality of Service Committee (HCQSC) has debated how performance measures for defining level of service (i.e., service measures) for a facility should be selected. The historical approach has been for the HCQSC to select the measure (or measures) thought most appropriate. However, some committee members have been suggesting that the selection of service measures should be based on research involving the driving public at large and that this research should either directly or indirectly obtain information from drivers and passengers on perceptions of quality and level of service. A preliminary investigation determining the factors that affect traveler-perceived quality of service on rural freeways using in-field surveys of motorists traveling on rural freeways has been conducted. In regard to quality of service, it is becoming more evident that travelers consider multiple factors, and the results from this study support that notion. Specifically, the survey shows that most respondents consider three or more factors important in determining their quality of service on rural freeways. Although density still appears to be a primary factor affecting perceived quality of service, additional factors, such as speed variance and percentage of free-flow speed, seem just as important to travelers. In addition, some nontraffic-performance measures, such as pavement quality and driver etiquette, were found to be important.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.3141/1883-15
• Summary URL:
  http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=QUALITY-OF-SERVICE+PERCEPTIONS+BY+RURAL+FREEWAY+TRAVELERS%3a+EXPLORATORY+ANALYSIS&author=S.+Washburn&author=K.+Ramlackhan&author=D.+McLeod&publication_year=2004
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Public/Blurbs/155481.aspx
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1883, Traffic Flow Theory and Highway Capacity and Quality of Service 2004.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Washburn, Scott S
  • Ramlackhan, K
  • McLeod, D S
• Publication Date: 2004

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 132-139
• Monograph Title: TRAFFIC FLOW THEORY AND HIGHWAY CAPACITY AND QUALITY OF SERVICE 2004
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1883
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Drivers; Freeways; Level of service; Passengers; Performance measurement; Quality of service; Rural areas; Surveys; Travelers
• Uncontrolled Terms: Traveler perception
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Passenger Transportation; Society; I71: Traffic Theory;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00983367
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 030909478X
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Dec 21 2004 12:00AM