Analysis of Individuals' Activity-Travel Behavior Based on a Structural Equation Model

Abstract

Using the activity-travel survey data of Shangyu, a typical medium sized city of China, this paper describes the development, estimation and interpretation of a model relating to socio-demographics, activity participation and travel behavior, A complex set of interrelationships among the variables of interest is estimated simultaneously using the structural equation modeling methodology, with activity participation and travel behavior endogenous to the model. The results show that strong relationships exist between sociodemographic characteristics and activity-travel behavior. Besides, the results reveal trade-offs between in-home and outof-home activity participation when people are facing decisionmaking. Furthermore, it is also found that socio-demographics not only directly affect travel behavior but also indirectly influence travel behavior through activity participation. The findings contribute to better understanding and analyzing individuals’ activity-travel behavior. Furthermore, they are helpful to the formulation of scientific transportation policies and significant to studies on activity-based travel demand forecasting method.