On-Time Reliability Impacts of Advanced Traveler Information Services (ATIS), Volume II: Extensions and Applications of the Simulated Yoked Study Concept

Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office2002PDFTech ReportJung, SoojungLarkin, JamesShah, VaishaliToppen, AlanVasudevan, MeenakshyWunderlich, KarlMitretek Systems. Center for Telecommunications and Advanced TechnologyUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationMitretek SystemsUnited StatesAdvanced traveler information systemsTravel timeUser benefitsImpact studiesRoute choiceEvaluation/program assessmentFHWA-JPO-04-0740900610D-01DFTH61-00-C-00001Final reportIn a simulated yoke study, estimates of roadway travel times are archived from web-based Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) and used to recreate hypothetical, retrospective paired driving trials between travelers with and without ATIS. Previous research using this technique on a three-month archive of data from the Washington, DC metropolitan area demonstrated that travelers who receive notification of current congestion prior to departure can realize substantial time management benefits from improved on-time reliability and trip predictability. In this report, this key finding relating to on-time reliability is further supported and extended in two larger, parallel twelve-month case studies in the Washington DC as well as the Minneapolis/St. Paul (Twin cities) metropolitan area. Further, the authors show that annual improvements in travel reliability from a pre-trip notification service modifying both time of departure and route choice can be valued at over $1,300 for selected trips in the Washington area and over $400 in the Twin Cities area. Modification of trip timing is shown to be the most frequent and most significant pre-trip decision. In the Washington case study, changes in trip timing suggested by an ATIS service are ten times more frequent than pre-trip routeS choice decision; even during peak periods - in the Twin Cities they are six times more frequent. Extending the pre-trip service to include an en route guidance component appears to be highly valuable only in a minority to Washington area trips exhibiting longer trip durations (>39 minutes), high travel time variability, and viable alternative routes with diversion points occurring late in the trip.119