Seiichi Kagaya

Psychological and Behavioral Effects of Travel Feedback Program for Travel Behavior Modification

The effects of the Travel Feedback Program (TFP) on travel behaviors and psychological factors that may influence automobile use were investigated. TFP was proposed as a method of modifying travel behavior with automobile use into travel behavior without automobile use. In TFP, participants were asked to report their travel activity behavior, after which they received feedback on that behavior, including information about the amount of carbon dioxide emission resulting from the behavior, and comments or suggestions from the program coordinators on how to reduce automobile use. The behavioral and psychological effects produced by TFP were theoretically investigated on the basis of norm activation theory, which describes the psychological process of altruistic behavior proposed in social psychology. From the theory that automobile-use reduction or pro-environmental behavior is influenced by behavioral intention to reduce automobile use, it was hypothesized that behavioral intention is in turn influenced by moral obligation, and moral obligation is in turn influenced by awareness of the negative environmental consequences of automobile use. The psychological and behavioral data confirmed the set of hypotheses of causal relations, and the data indicated that TFP has a significant positive effect on pro-environmental behavior even 1 year after participation in TFP.

Development of Transport Mode Choice Model by Using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System

Developing precise travel behavior models is important for estimating traffic demand and, consequently, for planning transportation systems. A study is presented that suggests a hybrid model that combines a stochastic model with a neuro-fuzzy inference system. The model is applied for estimating traveler behavior in the context of the problem of transport mode choice. Particularly, the multinomial logit model with neuro-fuzzy utility functions is developed to investigate shopping traveler preferences regarding the modes of bus, subway, and automobile. The model is evaluated by comparing its results with the results of a multinomial logit model. Moreover, the probabilities of selecting a transport mode obtained by applying the two models are compared with the actual transport mode choices, which show better performance of the proposed model. In addition, the model demonstrates good performance by estimating a large number of right choices during the validation process. A sensitivity analysis demonstrates the influence of time variations of mode subway on the probabilities of selecting a transport mode. The analysis highlights different behaviors of the models caused by the different utility functions. The results confirm that the proposed model can describe uncertainties regarding traveler decisions on the time of transport mode choice.

Cellular Telephone Conversation While Driving: Effects on Driver Reaction Time and Subjective Mental Workload

The effects of conversation through a cellular telephone while driving on driver reaction time and subjective mental workload (SMWL) were investigated. Two vehicles equipped with measurement devices were used to measure reaction time. The drivers’ SMWL was measured by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index procedure. The experiment was conducted on an expressway in Japan. Thirty-one subjects participated in the experiment; 19 were young and 12 were elderly drivers. Each subject was asked to follow a leading vehicle and to keep a constant distance while following. The subjects performed four tasks: (a) following a leading vehicle, (b) operating a cellular telephone while following the leading vehicle, (c) performing a simple conversation task, and (d) performing a complex conversation task on a cellular telephone with the experimenter while following the leading vehicle. The results of these experiments indicated that the performance of the telephone tasks increases the reaction time and SMWL of the drivers, as was shown in a previous study. The results also indicated that the complex conversation task produced an increase in reaction time as compared to the simple conversation task, independent of age group. Furthermore, the experiment indicated that the SMWL also increased significantly in the complex conversation task as compared to the other tasks.

Use of a fuzzy theory technique for grouping of trips in the vehicle routing and scheduling problem

Abstract A technique of grouping trips on the basis of their similarity is presented. It is to be used in conjunction with any of the existing routing and scheduling models of demand responsive transportation (DRT) vehicles. The proposed approach treats the similarity of two trips as a fuzzy relation. For a given trip pair, the level of similarity is defined by the membership grade of the fuzzy relation for different attributes of the trips. The composite similarity of the trip pair is then computed by a fuzzy integral. Based on the matrix of the composite similarity, trip groups are identified by connecting trip pairs whose membership grade is greater than a given value. The technique allows grouping of trips when the total number of trips is very large, without losing the flexibility of the manual grouping process. It permits the selection of different similarity criteria, different values of weights among the criteria and the cut-off point of similarity grade depending on the requirements of the day. This is possible by expressing the similarity as a fuzzy relation. The technique can be used as part of pre-screening of the original set of trips before any of the existing scheduling algorithms is applied.

Influence of Winter Road Conditions and Signal Delay on Pedestrian Route Choice in Japan’s Snowiest Metropolis

Investigation of pedestrian route choice behavior on icy surfaces is important for the effective improvement of walkways in winter. The objective of this research was to investigate pedestrian route choice behavior in winter. Field surveys and questionnaire surveys were conducted to fulfill this objective. Video cameras were used in the field surveys to clarify the movements of pedestrians. How pedestrians chose their routes was investigated by observing their movements. According to the field survey, when the signal was green, the probability that the pedestrian would cross became extremely high, regardless of the road surface conditions. However, when the walkway surface was icy, the probability that the pedestrian would wait for a green signal decreased by a considerable value. This indicates that when the wait becomes long, the probability that the pedestrian will cross becomes low during the snowy season. A questionnaire survey was also conducted to clarify the factors affecting pedestrian route choice behavior. The questionnaire asked about different road surface conditions. The results from the survey indicate that even if part of a road section has a good surface condition, it has a strong influence on route choice behavior. It indicates that pedestrians feel uncomfortable in walking on slippery walkways and they prefer to choose bare walkways. On the basis of the data from the field survey and questionnaire survey, logit models were developed to express quantitatively the route choice behaviors of pedestrians. These models can be used to predict the probability that a pedestrian will select a route as a function of pedestrian delay at signalized intersections and the road surface conditions in winter.

Investigating behavior of active cyclists

The behavior of active cyclists in Japan and their motivations for cycling were investigated. In Japan, bicycles were often used either as the main transportation mode or as part of a multimodal journey. However, few Japanese transportation policies and strategies address cycling. The current investigation thus addressed the reasons why people cycled although the cycling system had yet to achieve high levels of service. Commuters’ views on cycling were investigated in a behavioral analysis. In a statistical analysis, discrete choice models were estimated to assess the factors that had a strong influence on cycling. Results of the behavioral and statistical analyses are discussed with a focus on unimodal commuting trips. The findings of the models suggest that the single-person household type influences the choice of nonmotorized modes and that owning a car is not significant when people choose to cycle. Those who regularly cycle to perform other activities and those who regularly exercise are more likely to commute by bicycle. The possibility of sharing sidewalk space with pedestrians appears to have a strong positive impact on cycling. In addition, longer distances to public transport stations motivate the use of bicycle in multimodal journeys. The insight gained can be used by transport planners and government bodies in Japan and elsewhere in planning for more cycling-friendly cities.

Multi- Agent Simulation to Uncertain Civilian Return Trips during a Hypothetical Earthquake

After Hanshin-Awaji huge earthquake disaster in 1994, it has been important for Japanese local Government to build a comprehensive evacuation program of a large earthquake occurrence. In this program, it is substantial to give appropriate information on human behavior for the evacuation time. Thus, a new methodology based on behavior-oriented agent system should be developed. In this study, the production rules of the attributive groups were constructed in terms of the questionnaire survey for civilian return-trips from the working or the shopping places during earthquake disaster. Next, using the set of production rules composed of the questionnaire data, a multi-agent system model for return trips in a hypothetical large-scaled earthquake was built by a MAS method. It comes to the conclusion that the human behaviors during the earthquake impact were constructed by multi-agent system model and the possibility of the return-home was found in view of the conditions of the roads and the human attributes.

A Study on Directional Navigation of Pedestrian down to the Underground

This study focuses on the sense of resistance on pedestrians down to the underground. In order to analyze a pedestrians direction navigation and way-finding behavior when pedestrians going down the stairs to the underground, the simulation experiment was conducted using personal computer by providing the visual information in movements. The results show that the directional navigation and way-finding behavior becomes difficult as the number of corners of the stairs increases. In addition, the visual information regarding direction might improve those behavior

Flow Characteristics of Inter-city Automobile Traffic in Hokkaido

This paper analyzes the flow characteristics of inter-city automobile traffic considering time distance and OD traffic flows between the cities in Hokkaido. The methodology exploits two different cumulative distribution curves to analyze the travel behavior of inter-city OD traffic flows. One curve deals with OD traffic flows generated in and attracted to each city and inter-city travel time distance. Another curve is attempted to calculate the index of distribution of OD traffic flows. The classification of 208 cities is tried from the view point of mean travel time distance and OD traffic flows by cluster analysis. Visualizing the nodal structure of inter-city in Hokkaido based on direct connection method is also conducted.

Effects of Memory Retrieval Load on Drivers' Reproduction Performance Under Route Searching

Experiments were conducted using a personal computer to study the human factors involved in information processing during route searching. The primary objective was to investigate the effects of differences in the amount of memory retrieval load in terms of a given task. Two route-searching tasks were combined with two memory-reproducing tasks, for four types of tasks. The subjects used either a map guidance system or a voice guidance system to trace a predetermined route to the destination in a simulated driving test. In addition, the subjects were asked to perform memory-reproducing tasks using working memory. In these tasks, the subjects memorized the same number of traffic signs, but there was a difference in the memory retrieval process that the tasks demanded. The subjects were 62 students at Hokkaido University. Multiple analysis of variance was used to analyze the interaction effects and the main effects of tasks. The results indicated that the accuracy of route searching, the response time of route searching, and the accuracy of reproducing memorized traffic signs increased as the memory retrieval load decreased. This suggests that the memory retrieval process affects the performance of drivers’ information processing.