The Value of Traveler Information for Motorists
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(Minnesota Department of Transportation, $72,205, 1 year, PI-David Levinson, co-PIs Kathleen Harder and John Bloomfield)
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Original Abstract: A major strategy of the federal ITS initiatives and state departments of transportation is to provide traveler information to motorists through various means, including variable message signs, the internet, telephone services like 511, and TV and radio reports. This is relatively uncontroversial, but its effectiveness is unknown. The benefits to traveler information can be in terms of time saved if travelers choose alternative routes. However, there are other benefits to drivers—e.g., simply knowing that there will be a delay of a certain duration will reduce driver uncertainty. Drivers receive value from traveler information in several ways, including the ability to save time, but perhaps more importantly, other personal, social, safety, or psychological impacts from certainty. This information can be economically valued. The benefits of reduction in driver uncertainty when information is provided by means like a 511 telephone service is the main variable we aim to measure in the proposed research, in which we will assess user preferences for trips as a function of the presence and accuracy of information, while controlling for travel time, number of stops, stopped delay, specific route, time of day, traffic conditions, individual and vehicle characteristics, and weather.
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Final Report
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Presentations and Publications
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Ph.D. Dissertations
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