Commuter Groups Research Articles

Commuter Behavior and Decision Making: Designing Motorist Information Systems

This research reports on the results of a large sample survey designed to investigate the response of commuters to the delivery of motorist information. The main purpose of the survey was to investigate the impact of traffic information on commuter's route choices, mode choices, and departure times, and to determine whether motorists could be categorized according to their specific information needs. The surveyed population consisted of 9,652 home-to-work Interstate five (I–5) commuters, of which 3,892 (40%) returned usable surveys for analysis. Using the cluster analysis statistical technique, four commuter subgroups were shown to exist with respect to their willingness to respond to the delivery of real-time traffic information. These groups were: (1) route changers those willing to change routes on or before entering I–5 (20.6%), (2) non-changers, those unwilling to change time, route, or mode (23.4%), (3) time and route changers (40.1%), and (4) pre-trip changers, those willing to change time, mode, or route before leaving the house (15.9%). The response of these commuter groups with respect to several variables and some applications of this data to the creation of motorist information systems are discussed.

The social biology of human populations: Spontaneous group formation conforms to evolutionary predictions of adaptive aggregation patterns

Two experiments tested whether city commuter and pedestrian groups conformed with ecological predictions of adaptive group size, age, and sex composition. It was predicted that individuals with the greatest reproductive potential would optimize mating contacts and minimize competitive interference by segregating into small, mixed-sex groups, whereas more vulnerable individuals, too young or old for optimum fertility, would tend to aggregate independently of gender in larger groups, which may offer advantages for foraging and predator avoidance. To maximize reproductive potential, mature males should prefer grouping with young women of high fertility, whereas older women should prefer younger men. In Experiment 1, 2,432 persons in three cities were observed on buses, automobiles, and sidewalks, in yoked observations. As predicted, reproductively immature preschool and grade-school children formed larger groups than mature adults ( p < 0.0001) and showed no sex differences in grouping. Elderly adults (with decreased reproductive potential) were also found in larger groups than younger adults ( p < 0.01) and also showed no sex differences. Sexually mature men and women grouped more with the opposite sex than in all-male or all-female groups ( p < 0.00001). Mature adult men were the least aggregative category ( p < 0.01): they tended to be alone or in pairs with women, and all-male groups were conspicuously absent ( p < 0.005). These findings were consistent across different socioeconomic levels, ethnicities, and subcultures in our samples (p = NS). In Experiment 2, 475 bus passengers in three cities were observed selecting seatmates in a naturalistic choice paradigm. Only sexually mature adults exhibited a significant preference for the sex of their seatmates ( p < 0.0005): Young women chose most often to sit with other women, whereas young adult men more frequently chose seatmates of the opposite sex. Young women were chosen more often as seat partners than all age/sex categories combined ( p < 0.0005). Young women chose older partners ( p < 0.05), while middle-aged women preferred younger women and men ( p < 0.0005) as companions. Results are explained in the context of canalized behaviors arising early in human evolution.

Improving Policy Making in Public Transportation

During the past 20 years, government officials and urban planners have become increasingly aware that transportation system initiated by one generation is one of the most important legacies handed down to the next generation.' Academicians state that . . (T)he kind of city we live in today is largely a product of the transportation system.2 Even though policy makers and academicians suggest that transportation is of utmost importance, our public transportation systems are in shambles. Pott, a researcher of transportation policy making, states, By any standard index the transit mode is a failure as a utility. Its usage is declining, except in scattered instances. Its percentage in the daily travel market has declined to insignificance.I Another public transportation expert calls urban mass transit policy making Mockery of Ad Hoc-ery.4 This situation demonstrates the urgent need for more efficient and effective policy making in the public transportation area, which can only be done with greater communication among policy makers, leaders of commuter groups, and concerned and informed citizens. Yet the type of systematic communication that is needed does not really evolve in the public hearing setting. These meetings often result in shouting matches between policy makers and commuter groups. Policy makers accuse commuters of not being realistic, suggesting that commuters want good service but are unrealistic about its cost and unwilling to pay for it. Commuters accuse policy makers of not being sensitive to the horrendous conditions of most public transportation systems because they never use them. A third group, the academicians involved in public policy evaluation, analyze the situation and offer suggestions for improvement that are rarely taken seriously. Many policy makers visualize the academicians as ivory tower, absent-minded professors, who do not understand the reality of policy making. This lack of communication and cooperation, exacerbated by rapidly increasing fares and deteriorating service, leads to less rather than more effective policy making. Policy makers, commuters, academicians, and other informed citizens must understand each others' views and communicate in a more systematic manner in order to solve our mass transit problems. Policy makers are becoming aware that survey research quite effectively serves this purpose. In an article entitled Survey Research for Public Administrators, which appeared in a recent edition of The Public * Our concerns over energy, the urban crisis, and our unhealthy environment have demonstrated the urgency of a new commitment of human energy and resources to public transportation policy making. This research was designed to obtain systematic input from academics, policy makers and leaders of commuter groups on how various policy alternatives being considered by county, state and federal transit policy makers would probably affect public transportation usage in the New York metropolitan region. Some of these policies have already been implemented in other areas of the nation. Others are currently under consideration. Respondents to a mailed questionnaire were asked to predict how each of these policy alternatives, if implemented in the New York metropolitan region, would probably affect public transportation ridership in general, as well as their own use of public transportation. They were also asked whether they approve or disapprove of these policies given the probable costs. Thus, the results highlight the differences and similarities among the groups concerning both the political feasibility and probable impacts of the policy alternatives.

Commuter Preference for Bus Stop Sign Information

The development of bus systems depends upon informing the public about the service availability and providing user information to facilitate using the system. This research focuses on achieving desired information for a bus stop sign in the Milwaukee area. Three sample routes were selected, and a hand-out, mail-return survey was used to determine users' preference for bus stop sign information. Returns have been analyzed to establish a general preference scale and to examine the interest of commuter groups. The results showed that commuters' order of importance was for route number followed by hours of service, waiting time, route name, route schedule, type of service, and route map. Analysis of results according to trip and commuter characteristics showed a significant relationship between these variables and the degree and order of importance, or both.