Likely Users of Advanced Traveler Information Systems: Evidence from the Seattle Region

Abstract

Findings about the claimed use of and interest in traveler information systems among segments of the general population in the Seattle metropolitan region are reported. The research is based on data collected from a 1997 intelligent transportation system supplement to the Puget Sound Regional Council’s transportation panel travel diary study. In general, interest in traffic information was found to be a function of complex travel behavior, demographics, and factors related to attitudinal and technology interest. It was also found that the potential market for advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) includes several market segments with different needs; each is drawn to ATIS for distinct and varying reasons. First, the so-called control seeker segment includes people who desire greater than average control over their environment. In a traffic information context, that translates to better knowledge of their travel times, especially in congested travel environments. The second segment of interest, dubbed webheads, includes individuals who are very comfortable with high technology, and it is possible that they would be drawn to ATIS at least partially through specific high-technology dissemination media. A third segment is made up of individuals who are less comfortable with (or less interested in) technology and are primarily interested in pretrip information, which they use to make departure time and route choice decisions.