The day activity schedule approach to travel demand analysis

This study develops a model of a person's day activity schedule that can be used to forecast urban travel demand. It is motivated by the notion that travel outcomes are part of an activity scheduling decision, and uses discrete choice models to address the basic modeling problem-capturing decision interactions among the many choice dimensions of the immense activity schedule choice set. An integrated system of choice models represents a person's day activity schedule as an activity pattern and a set of tours. A pattern model identifies purposes, priorities and structure of the day's activities and travel. Conditional tour models describe timing, location and access mode of on-tour activities. The system captures trade-offs people consider, when faced with space and time constraints, among patterns that can include at-home and on-tour activities, multiple tours and trip chaining. It captures sensitivity of pattern choice to activity and travel conditions through a measure of expected tour utility arising from the tour models. When travel and activity conditions change, the relative attractiveness of patterns changes because expected tour utility changes differently for different patterns. An empirical implementation of the model system for Portland, Oregon, establishes the feasibility of specifying, estimating and using it for forecasting. Estimation results match a priori expectations of lifestyle effects on activity selection, including those of (a) household structure and role, such as for females with children, (b) capabilities, such as income, and (c) activity commitments, such as usual work levels.