THE RATIONAL LOCATOR REEXAMINED: ARE TRAVEL TIMES STILL STABLE?

The rational locator hypothesis posits that individuals can, if they choose, maintain approximately steady journey-to-work travel times by adjusting their home and workplace. This article reports on a study in which this hypothesis was coupled with the observation of long-term stability in drive alone journey-to-work times in metropolitan Washington (those times were unchanged from 1957 through 1968 to 1988). The authors use the concept of time budgets, in three categories: daily time budget (1440 minutes), the daily travel time budget, and the commuting time budget; commuting time and daily travel time are interrelated, but not identical. The authors found that, despite an increase in average commuting distance and congestion, trip duration remained constant or even declined over the years in the study (because of shifting a share of traffic from slow urban routes to faster suburban routes). To re-test the idea that travel times are stable, the authors made intra-metropolitan comparisons of travel times using Washington DC data from 1968, 1988, and 1994, and Twin Cities (Minnesota) data from 1990 and 2000. Results showed that commute times varied depending on the geography considered. For example, in the larger Washington DC region, keeping the same geography shows little change in commute times, but using the larger 1994 area suggests an increase in commute times. This is quite different from the Twin Cities area, which showed a marked increase over the decade. The authors conclude by rejecting the theory of personal commuting budgets; they find that commuting time clearly depends on metropolitan spatial structure. They also briefly discuss the idea of a travel time tolerance.

Language

  • English

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  • Accession Number: 00987518
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS, ATRI
  • Created Date: Mar 17 2005 12:00AM