Path analysis: Its use in transportation research

Abstract

Sometimes a transportation researcher is confronted with a problem which can be represented by a set of variables which are causally related through time. One approach to studying such a problem is to use path analysis to formulate and test models of the variable set. This paper describes the basic method of path analysis and its use as a tool to aid airline carriers in capital equipment acquisition decisions. In addition to this application of path analysis, some other uses of this methodology in other transportation-related areas are discussed.