MODE CHOICE ANALYSIS BASED ON REVEALED AND STATED PREFERENCES

Abstract

Travel is an inherently complex behavioural phenomenon, involving most unpredictable variable i.e., human factor. Planning of safe, efficient and effective transportation system can only be suitably accomplished on the basis of good understanding of travel behaviour of commuters. Hence prediction of individual travel behaviour is an essential component of transportation planning. It is viewed that the ultimate mission of travel behaviour research is to develop the capability to predict how individuals respond to changes in travel environment. Conventionally, mode choice analysis has been based upon Revealed Preference approach. Different types of choice models developed on the basis of econometric and psychometric approach have hardly become acceptable for practical transportation planning. The complex mathematical manipulations have not only made the models distractive but also data hungry and less interpretative. In this thesis an attempt has been made to find an alternative methodology based upon Stated Preference approach to study the mode choice behaviour of the commuters for work trips in Delhi only. As a practical application of the analysis the switching behaviour of the commuters of different modes to an abstract mode5i.e., Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) have been studied in detail. The response of commuters of different income groups and different trip lengths for work journeys towards the various combinations of cost, in-vehicle travel time and out-of-vehicle travel time have been probed. The switching over behaviour of the commuters Crom the preseni: mode to an innovative mode has been found out.