Rachel B. Copperman

Effect of the Built Environment on Motorized and Nonmotorized Trip Making: Substitutive, Complementary, or Synergistic?

This paper describes how it has become well recognized that non-motorized transportation is beneficial to a community’s health as well as its transportation system performance. In view of the limited public resources available for improving public health and/or transportation, the present study aims to (a) assess the expected impact of built environment improvements on the substitutive, complementary, or synergistic use of motorized and non-motorized modes; and (b) examine how the effects of built environment improvements differ for different population groups and for different travel purposes. The bivariate ordered probit models estimated in this study suggest that few built environment factors lead to the substitution of motorized mode use by non-motorized mode use. Rather, factors such as increased bikeway density and street network connectivity have the potential of promoting more non-motorized travel to supplement individuals’ existing motorized trips. Meanwhile, the heterogeneity found in individuals’ responsiveness to built environment factors indicates that built environment improvements need to be sensitive to the local residents’ characteristics.It has become well recognized that nonmotorized transportation is beneficial to a communitys health as well as its transportation system performance. In view of the limited public resources available for improving public health and transportation, the present study aims to (a) assess the expected impact of built environment improvements on the substitutive, complementary, or synergistic use of motorized and nonmotorized modes and (b) examine how the effects of built environment improvements differ for different population groups and for different travel purposes. The bivariate ordered probit models estimated in this study suggest that few built environment factors lead to the substitution of motorized mode use by nonmotorized mode use. Instead, factors such as increased bikeway density and street network connectivity have the potential to promote more nonmotorized travel to supplement individuals’ existing motorized trips. Meanwhile, the heterogeneity found in individuals’ responsiveness to built environment factors indicates that built environment improvements need to be sensitive to local residents’ characteristics.

Population Updating System Structures and Models Embedded in the Comprehensive Econometric Microsimulator for Urban Systems

This paper describes the development of a population update modeling system as part of the development of the comprehensive econometric microsimulator for socioeconomics, land use, and transportation systems (CEMSELTS), which is part of the comprehensive econometric micro-simulator for urban systems (CEMUS) under development at the University of Texas at Austin. The research in this paper recognizes that modeling the linkages among demographics, land use, and transportation is important for realistic travel demand forecasting. The population update modeling system focuses on modeling events and actions of individuals and households in the urban region. An analysis framework is proposed to predict future population characteristics by modeling the changes to all relevant attributes of the households and individuals. The models identified in the analysis framework are estimated for the Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas, region. The econometric structures used include deterministic models, rate-based probability models, binary logit models, multinomial logit models, and ordered-response probit models. To verify the outputs from these models, the predicted results for the year 2000 are compared with observed 2000 census data.

Exploratory Analysis of Children's Daily Time-Use and Activity Patterns: Child Development Supplement to U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics

This paper examines the weekday and weekend activity participation characteristics of schoolchildren. The research focuses on the overall time use of children in different types of activities as well as on several dimensions characterizing the context of participation in activities. These include the temporal (day of week and participation duration), spatial (location), with-whom (i.e., accompanying individuals), and episode-sequencing dimensions. The data for the analysis are drawn from the 2002 Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics.

Innovative Methods for Collecting Data and for Modeling Travel Related to Special Events

The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) is the designated metropolitan planning organization for the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area. In collaboration with local transit agencies and local jurisdictions, MAG developed a successful proposal to compete for FTA Alternatives Analysis Discretionary Program Section 5339 funds. The proposal included development of the special events model and special events data collection. The importance of this task was highlighted by the success of the introduction of light rail transit in the region. The need for better understanding and forecasting of transit markets required in-depth study and modeling of planned special events in the region. Special events patrons constituted a significant portion of light rail ridership and overall regional travel demand. This paper focuses on the first results of this effort, including the completed special events data collection and some preliminary data analysis results. The special events surveys used advanced data collection techniques that allowed better data expansion and processing and ultimately will facilitate development of advanced special events travel demand forecasting models. The paper discusses survey design, survey instruments, counting and interviewing processes, organizational issues, and data expansion procedures.