Small Is Beautiful: Why You Should Get Rid of Zones and Start Using Parcels in Your Travel Demand Model

The Sacramento Area Council of Governments has recently developed and implemented an activity-based tour travel demand model, which is based on parcel/point land use and demographic input data. The parcel/point input data has provided an opportunity to improve basic aspects of travel demand modeling, two of which are the focus of this paper: 1) estimation of travel distance and proximity of land uses; and 2) representation of density as an explanatory variable for travel behavior. Examples of how land use data are represented at parcel/point level are compared to the more traditional traffic-analysis-zone (TAZ) approach. The detail of the micro-level input data, combined with the activity-based tour approach to modeling travel demand, allows for more accurate and thorough accounting of land use as a variable influencing travel behavior such as vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and propensity to use transit and non-motorized travel modes. Compared to more typical TAZ approaches, the use of micro-level land use input data improves the accuracy of travel distances by 30 to 60 percent, and accounts for significantly more variation in VMT, non-motorized trips, and transit trips per household. As concerns about climate change and greenhouse gas emissions become a greater concern of public officials, the ability to reasonably account for the effects of land use will be critical to formulating and evaluating policies intended to reduce VMT. Use of parcel/point land use input data for travel demand models provides greater confidence that the full value of land use policies are represented in travel forecasts.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Griesenbeck, Bruce
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 88th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2009-1-11 to 2009-1-15
• Date: 2009

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 20p
• Monograph Title: TRB 88th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Land use planning; Public transit; Sustainable development; Traffic analysis zones; Traffic forecasting; Transit operating agencies; Travel demand; Travel surveys
• Geographic Terms: Sacramento (California)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01127279
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 09-3294
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Apr 28 2009 8:10AM