Richard Ellison

Development of a Global Positioning System Web-Based Prompted Recall Solution for Longitudinal Travel Surveys

This paper details the development of a Global Positioning System collection solution for a longitudinal (10-week) survey of driving behavior in Sydney, Australia: the primary purpose is to investigate behavioral responses to variable rate charging regimes. The study calls for data to be transmitted regularly (wirelessly) to check the quality of data as they are being collected and provide the basis for a web-based prompted recall (PR) survey in which participants can view their trips, confirm details, and provide information on who was driving, number of passengers, and trip purpose. Following details of the technological setup, details are provided of the data processing issues involved and the development of the PR survey. Pilot testing of the approach on 30 motorists demonstrates that contrary to popular belief, highly accurate data of this nature can be collected for several weeks with little respondent burden.

A Combined GPS/Stated Choice Experiment to Estimate Values of Crash-Risk Reduction

Abstract This paper details the development and application of a Stated Choice (SC) experiment designed to explore motorists sensitivities to a kilometre-based charging regime focused around crash-risk reduction. Responses are gathered through a SC experiment that pivots off actual driving behaviour collected over a five week period using an in-vehicle Global Positioning System (GPS) device. This provision of greater reality using revealed preference (RP) information ensures that the alternatives in the SC experiment are embedded in reality, providing motorists with a more realistic context for their choices. The study demonstrates with the improved affordability, power and consumer familiarity with GPS devices, the integration of GPS recorded travel information with SC experiments is a now a feasible solution which can help enrich the quality of the reference alternatives in SC experiments in the future.

Exploring Behavioral Responses of Motorists to Risk-Based Charging Mechanisms

This paper reports the behavioral response of motorists in Australia to a variable-rate charging scheme designed to encourage safer driving practices and reduce exposure to crash risk, specifically kilometers driven, nighttime driving, and speeding. The study involved a 5-week before period of Global Positioning System monitoring to establish how motorists drove normally, followed by a 5-week after period of Global Positioning System monitoring in which charges were levied and changes assessed. Incentives were paid to motorists for the difference in the charges between the two 5-week periods. Vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) was reduced by 10%, although the sample was evenly split into motorists with increasing VKT and those with decreasing VKT. The proportion of distance speeding fell by 4.7%; this finding, when coupled with decreases in VKT, implied a net reduction of more than 40% in kilometers spent speeding. Three-fourths of the participants reduced their speeding. Exit interviews with a cross section of participants highlighted the practical difficulties of reducing kilometers but (more encouragingly) reinforced the potential to reduce speeding.

Travel Time Competitiveness of Cycling in Sydney, Australia

A key issue for both sustainable transport and public health is the viability of cycling as an alternative to the car, particularly for short trips. This study assessed the travel time implications of hypothetically substituting actual car trips with cycling. The car trips were captured over several weeks for 178 motorists in Sydney, Australia, through Global Positioning System technology. The cycling trips were generated with reverse geocoding processes in geographic information system software. This process took into account the impacts of terrain on cycling travel times. Both individual trips and trip chains were considered. Results suggested that for an inexperienced adult cyclist more than 90% of car trips of up to 5 km (58% of trips) could be cycled within 10 min of the time taken by car. As the level of cycling experience increased, the bikeable distance increased: the majority of commuter adults could cycle the median commuting distance in Sydney of 11 km with little additional travel time compared with a car. For trip chains, although the competitiveness of cycling decreased as more legs were included, the total distance of the chain emerged as a more crucial issue. Cycling was found to be as competitive for trip chains shorter than 10 km as for individual shorter trips. Finally, results showed that in the context of daily travel time budgets, approximately 20% of people could switch totally from cars to bicycles without incurring more than a 20-min additional increase in travel time on average per day.

Public support for bicycling and transport policies in inner Sydney, Australia: a cross‐sectional survey

Objective: To describe the degree of community support – and factors associated with this support – for a number of potential transport policy options among an inner‐city sample of residents in Sydney, Australia.

A GPS/Web-Based Solution for Multi-Day Travel Surveys: Processing Requirements and Participant Reaction

Abstract Purpose — Describe the system set-up and processing requirements for a long-duration longitudinal Global Positioning System (GPS)/prompted-recall (PR) survey conducted in Sydney, Australia and assess reaction and cognition of participants. Design/methodology/approach — The survey uses data collected using an in-car GPS device within a PR interface accessed over the Internet by participants. Technical requirements, interface design and survey administration of the survey are discussed. This is followed by an assessment of participant burden and cognition by analysing user activity on the PR and comparing participant responses to information inferred from the GPS data. Findings — New technologies have allowed for increasingly sophisticated data collection efforts but they require substantial resources to translate this into a usable form. This study shows these technologies can be used to conduct long-duration travel studies in a way that is appealing and engaging to participants. However, it was found that responses to the PR are sometimes inconsistent and caution should be drawn in taking PR responses as the ‘ground truth’. Research limitations/implications — The relatively low participant burden of this study shows long-duration studies are feasible if care is taken to limit the work required by participants. The inconsistency of the responses to the PR suggest future surveys may need to employ mechanisms that are better able to aid participants in accurately completing the survey. Originality/value — Details the requirements of running a long-duration GPS/PR survey and assesses participant burden and cognition of the survey which are often not reported.