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Title:

Eliciting the Needs That Underlie Activity–Travel Patterns and Their Covariance Structure: Results of Multimethod Analyses

Accession Number:

01155516

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

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Washington, DC 20001 United States
Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/Travel_Behavior_2010_Volume_2_164058.aspx

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Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780309142830

Abstract:

The modeling of dynamic activity generation is high on the research agenda in activity-based transport demand modeling. The concept of dynamic needs has been put forward as such a mechanism. Needs that underlie the generation of such discretionary activities as social, recreational, and sports activities are investigated. Three surveys were conducted to elicit, establish, and analyze the needs. Qualitative face-to-face interviews were carried out with a laddering technique to reveal need dimensions through an exhaustive classification of discretionary activities. Quantitative approaches were then used to determine which needs are equivalent in their effects on activities and, hence, can be merged. Finally, a questionnaire-based survey involving a large sample of individuals was used to measure personal levels of the needs identified and to correlate these measures with socioeconomic and behavioral characteristics. Six independent needs emerged from this research: physical exercise, social contact, relaxation, fresh air and outdoors, new experiences, and entertainment. Many-to-many relationships between activities and needs support the hypothesis that substitution relationships may play a significant role in activity generation. This observation implies that current practice in activity-based modeling of focusing on activities may produce biased results in development of dynamic models of transport demand. Furthermore, the results show that personal levels of these needs correlate with various socioeconomic as well as behavioral variables.

Monograph Accession #:

01172525

Report/Paper Numbers:

10-0800

Language:

English

Authors:

Nijland, Linda
Arentze, Theo
Timmermans, Harry

Pagination:

pp 54-62

Publication Date:

2010

Serial:

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

Issue Number: 2157
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISSN: 0361-1981

ISBN:

9780309142830

Media Type:

Print

Features:

Figures (2) ; References (16) ; Tables (6)

Subject Areas:

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

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Jan 25 2010 10:23AM

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