Random Regret Minimization Approach to Commuting Mode Choice in São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The random regret minimization (RRM) approach has been widely used in transport literature, but its application in the Global South is still marginal. In this paper we discuss individual commuting mode choice in the city of São Paulo (Brazil) from the perspective of the RRM modeling approach and its variants found in the literature. We estimated several multinomial logit models (random utility maximization [RUM], classical RRM, [Formula: see text]RRM, and hybrid formulations of RUM-RRM models) and explored regret scale and decision rule heterogeneities using latent class models with specific [Formula: see text] parameters. The results showed that the RRM approach outperformed its RUM counterpart in relation to model fit and suggested that it better captured the mode choice behavior of individuals in the analyzed context. We also found that accounting for heterogeneity in scale and decision rules improved the results of the models, and the specific [Formula: see text] parameters indicated that individuals displayed different regret behavior for travel time and travel cost attributes.