Analysis of park-and-ride decision behavior based on Decision Field Theory

Park and ride is a kind of traffic management solution to the traffic congestion problem in urban cities. This paper analyzes the decision making behavior of Park and Ride from a psychological point of view. Decision Field Theory is used to establish the decision model of Park and Ride. The proposed decision model is calibrated using real-life experimental survey data and has proved to be able to account for the complex decision behavior processes observed in the experimental survey data. The model demonstrates the psychological decision processes of individual travelers and the decision characteristics, such as simple decision, indecision and preference reversal. The effects of factors, e.g. deliberation time, deliberation threshold and initial preference, for mode choice are also examined. The proposed model demonstrates its capability of analyzing park-and-ride decision behavior and providing policy makers with useful information for future promotion and planning for park-and-ride facilities. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.