Multiple Discrete-Continuous Model of Activity Participation and Time Allocation for Home-Based Work Tours

Abstract

Activity-based travel demand models use the notion of tours or trip chains as the fundamental building blocks of daily traveler activity-travel patterns. Travelers may undertake a variety of tours during the course of a day, and each tour may include one or more stops where individuals participate in and devote time to the pursuit of activities. This paper presents a framework capable of simulating the complete composition of a tour and offers an approach to model the mix of activities and the time allocated to various activities in a tour. Embedded in the framework is a multiple discrete-continuous extreme value modeling component that was used to model the simultaneous decisions of participating in one or more activities in the course of a tour and of allocating time to each of the activities in the tour. The model was estimated with travel survey data collected in 2008 in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area in Arizona. Validation and policy simulation exercises were conducted to examine the efficacy of the model. The model was found to perform well in replicating tour patterns in the estimation sample and responded in a behaviorally intuitive manner in the context of a policy sensitivity test.