Destination Choice in Daily Activity Travel Mental Map's Repertoire

Abstract

To improve the behavioral realism of activity-based travel demand models, a deeper understanding of an individual's travel decision process is needed. This research project aims at revealing the variety of critical spatial factors in an individual's mental map that influence daily activity travel (AT) behavior. A qualitative travel survey and in-depth interviews are used to identify spatial factors that appear in respondents' destination choice decisions when discussing their daily activity space. Recorded interviews are processed with specialized software for qualitative data analysis (ATLAS.ti). First, representative if-then(-else) heuristics used by respondents are identified and classified. In addition, occurring spatial elements are indicated. To conclude, a new "script" approach used to grasp the behavioral mechanisms present in daily AT decisions is suggested. Further research along this line will increase comprehension of the impact of travel demand measures and improve their assessment in activity-based travel demand models.