Do people spend travel time the way they think they would? a comparative study of generic and trip-specific travel time allocation using hybrid multiple discrete continuous (MDC) framework

Unlike driving alone, public transportation allows one to engage in extraneous activities while traveling - often referred to as travel-based multitasking. Research involving travel-based multitasking often relies on either generic (i.e. not related to an actual trip) or revealed (i.e. related to an executed trip) data. The data collected for this study provided a unique opportunity to compare the generic and trip-specific preferences while traveling on public transportation. To this end, the study develops two integrated choice and latent variable models with multiple discrete-continuous (MDC) kernels to simultaneously model the activity selection and the time allocation for generic and trip-specific data, respectively. According to the results the trip-specific data could identify more nuances in the travel-based multitasking behavior than the generic data. The heterogeneity identified by the developed models will be helpful for the transit operators in providing appropriate facilities (e.g. internet access, reading lights) along various transit corridors.

Automated summary

Contrary to driving alone, public transportation allows for engaging in additional activities while traveling, known as travel-based multitasking. This study compared generic and trip-specific preferences during public transportation using two integrated models. The results showed that the trip-specific data captured more nuances in travel-based multitasking behavior than the generic data. The heterogeneity identified by these models can help transit operators provide suitable facilities along different transit routes.