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Title:

NEW IDEAS FOR TRACKING TRAVELERS
Cover of NEW IDEAS FOR TRACKING TRAVELERS

Accession Number:

00812429

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

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Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00978515

Abstract:

Two new techniques have brought greater efficiency to business marketing: the analysis of consumer trends, and the computerized collection and analysis of data on individuals. These techniques may prove extremely useful to transportation planners. For example, fewer than half of the adults in the United States are heavy drivers, and surveys reveal the demographics, attitudes, and habits of this crucial segment. Other surveys reveal the ways drivers are changing their behavior by using cellular telephones and other new technology in the automobile. Survey research and database marketing can help planners design attractive options to single-passenger automobile use. These techniques are already at work in Adelaide, Australia, and other cities. Basic demographic data can reveal hidden truths about complex social questions. The data have this power because demographic trends explain how society changes on the deepest level. When income distributions or migration patterns change, for example, the behavior of individuals often changes in response, and on a mass scale. If you don't know the trends, the shifting responses of voters and consumers might seem impossible to explain. If you do know the trends, short-term changes in behavior make a lot more sense and your organization can anticipate them. In the United States, several long-term demographic and attitudinal trends are behind recent changes in transportation use. This paper summarizes those trends. It reports on research on the attitudes American drivers have about the time they spend in their vehicles, because knowing those attitudes can help planners design attractive transportation alternatives. The paper also describes changes in the ways businesses collect data on their markets, and it suggests ways these new tools might be used to improve the efficiency of metropolitan transportation systems. The article cites two examples of innovative marketing communications in transportation: the marketing campaign behind the Honda Hybrid automobile, and a pilot project encouraging "travel blending" in Adelaide, Australia.

Supplemental Notes:

Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

Monograph Accession #:

00812428

Report/Paper Numbers:

E-C026

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Edmondson, B

Pagination:

p. 17-28

Publication Date:

2001-3

Serial:

Transportation Research Circular

Issue Number: E-C026
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISSN: 0097-8515

Conference:

Personal Travel: The Long and Short of It

Location: Washington, D.C.
Date: 1999-6-28 to 1999-7-1
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board Committee on Travel Survey Methods (A1D10) and Committee on National Transportation Data Requirements and Programs (A5016).

Features:

References (17)

Identifier Terms:

Honda Hybrid automobile

Geographic Terms:

Adelaide (Australia); United States

Subject Areas:

Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Jun 7 2001 12:00AM

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