OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE CORRELATES OF EXPRESSWAY USE

A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO DEVELOP A METHOD FOR ASSIGNING TRAFFIC TO A PROPOSED EXPRESSWAY NETWORK IN THE DETROIT METROPOLITAN AREA. RELATIONS TO EXPRESSWAY USE WERE STUDIED OF TRAVEL TIME, TIME DIFFERENTIAL, DISTANCE RATIO, AND SPEED RATIO. FROM THE DATA ANALYZED, IT IS CONCLUDED: (1) TIME AND DISTANCE SAVINGS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS, (2) DRIVERS' ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS EFFECT THEIR CHOICE OF A ROUTE, BUT OBJECTIVE FACTORS ACCOUNT FOR MOST OF THE VARIATION IN BEHAVIOR, (3) AN ASSIGNMENT OF TRAFFIC TO AN EXPRESSWAY BASED ON TIME RATIOS NECESSITATES A CLASSIFICATION OF THE EXPRESSWAY BEING APPRAISED AND SELECTION OF AN APPROPRIATE TIME-RATIO CURVE. (4) AN ASSIGNMENT BASED ON TIME-DIFFERENTIALS WOULD VARY EVEN MORE THAN ASSIGNMENT BY TIME-RATIOS, (5) DISTANCE DIFFERENTIAL HAS LITTLE APPLICATION AS A PREDICTOR OF EXPRESSWAY USAGE, (6) DISTANCE RATIO APPEARS TO BE BETTER ADAPTED TO UNIVERSAL ASSIGNMENT THAN ANY OTHER SINGLE VARIABLE CURVE, (7) ASSIGNMENT TO A SINGLE EXPRESSWAY WHICH WOULD HAVE A WHOLE VARIETY OF COMBINATIONS OF TIME, DISTANCE, AND SPEED SUGGESTS THE USE OF A FAMILY OF CURVES EMPLOYING TWO VARIABLES, AND (8) THE DISTANCE-RATIO-AND- SPEED-RATIO CURVES APPEAR TO OFFER A SIMPLE, FAST, AND ACCURATE METHOD OF ASSIGNMENT.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbbulletin/119/119-002.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 119, pp 17-38, 7 FIG, 12 TAB Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Campbell, E Wilson
  • McCargar, Robert
• Publication Date: 1956

Media Info

• Monograph Title: Factors influencing travel patterns
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Bulletin
  • Issue Number: 119
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Distance; Drivers; Economics; Expressways; Reaction time; Speed; Traffic assignment; Travel time; Urban highways
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver reaction
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00225377
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Dec 9 1994 12:00AM