Changes in Travel Behavior in Response to Weather Conditions: Do Type of Weather and Trip Purpose Matter?

Weather events can affect traffic in various ways; it can influence travel demand, traffic flows and traffic safety. This paper focuses on the impact of weather conditions on travel demand. The main objectives of this paper are to test the hypothesis that the type of weather determines the likelihood of a change in travel behavior and to assay whether the changes in travel behavior due to weather conditions are dependent on the trip purpose. To this end, a stated adaptation study was conducted in Flanders (Dutch speaking region of Belgium). In total 586 respondents completed the survey, which was administered both on the Internet and via a traditional paper-and-pencil questionnaire. To ensure an optimal correspondence between the survey sample composition and the Flemish population, the observations in the sample are weighted. To test the main hypotheses Pearson chi-square independence tests will be performed. Both the results from the descriptive analysis and the independence tests confirm that the type of weather matters, and that the changes in travel behavior in response to these weather conditions are highly dependent on the trip purpose. This dependence of behavioral adjustments on trip purposes provides policy makers with a deeper understanding of how weather conditions affect traffic. Further generalizations of the findings are possible by shifting the scope towards revealed travel behavior. Triangulation of both stated and revealed travel behavior on the one hand, and traffic intensities on the other hand, is certainly a key challenge for further research.

Jaar van publicatie:2010

Toegankelijkheid:Closed