Simultaneous choice behavior in activity and travel patterns

This research seeks to portray the daily activity and travel behavior of an individual as an outcome of a simultaneous choice process in which individuals make a choice regarding all stops on tour and all dimensions of the stop simultaneously. Previous research introduced different levels of conditionality among these choices, e.g. secondary stops on tour conditional on a primary stop or mode choice for a given activity conditional on the activity type. The main motivation for simultaneous choice is to obtain a realistic representation of the activity and travel choices of individuals. This in turn will provide a precise understanding of the activity and travel responses of individuals to changes in the transportation system and changes in policies that affect travel.; This research makes two major contributions in improving our understanding of individual activity and travel behavior. First, the simultaneous activity and travel choices are represented as part of a travel decision framework that influences both the long-term choices such as residential location and automobile ownership and short-term choices such as the daily activity and travel. Second, the model estimates the entire tour pattern as whole, i.e. the choice of "No Travel" versus the choice of participating in an out of home activity pattern. This choice of an out of home activity pattern involves the simultaneous choice of activity 4 types on tour, tour mode, and locations visited on tour. This allows each individual to evaluate and tradeoff all possible activity, mode, and location options.; The empirical estimation studies this simultaneous choice behavior for a sample of individuals in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. The model estimation results in the first known simultaneous model of tour activity pattern, tour mode, and tour locations. The socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of individuals, the transportation system level of service, and the zonal characteristics simultaneously influence activity participation, mode choice, and location choice. This allows for the combined influence of these characteristics on all aspects of activity and travel. The model also allows interactions between all stops on tour and all dimensions that describe the stop.