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Effectiveness of Disseminating Traveler Information on Travel Time Reliability: Implement Plan and Survey Results Report

CHAPTER 1. OVERVIEW

The report A Lexicon for Conveying Travel Time Reliability Information, developed as part of the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2) Reliability Project L14 – Effectiveness of Different Approaches to Disseminating Traveler Information on Travel Time Reliability – established a preliminary set of suggested terminology and guidelines for conveying Travel Time Reliability (TTR) information to road users so that they may make optimal travel choices from their point of view, such as whether to take a trip or not, departure time, mode choice, and route choice.(1,2) Specifically, a Lexicon of phrases was developed for each of eight TTR terms. Each Lexicon contained detailed guidelines for TTR information that would most likely be understood and used by the travelers. The Lexicon terminology and guidelines developed in L14 were laboratory studies, and none of these terms were tested in a field environment. Only in a field test can the true impacts and benefits of the use of travel time reliability information on behavior and resulting trip performance be determined. To help state agencies and the private sector better deploy and use the recommended Lexicon terminology, a field study was conducted to test the phrases to demonstrate the technical and institutional feasibility of their use and determine the costs and benefits of using these products of L14. The overall study objectives were to:

  • Convey TTR information from theory to reality.
  • Better understand travelers' perceived value of TTR information.
  • Better understand the current and future dimensions of the TTR information marketplace.
  • Better understand what network travel and TTR information travelers require.
  • Develop and implement a plan to test and evaluate the preliminary design guidelines and Lexicon phrases for disseminating TTR information.
  • Develop guidelines based on the outcome of the test and evaluation.
  • Lay out the barriers to communicating TTR information to travelers and steps to overcome barriers.
  • Outline how different travelers will use TTR information differently (e.g., one-time visitor vs. regular commuter).
  • Recommend and develop outreach activities in order to encourage use and adoption of the recommended Lexicon phrases and guidelines.
  • Outline clear steps that agencies need to take to start getting the TTR information into travelers' decision processes.

The field study was conducted in three different metropolitan areas: one each in Texas, Ohio, and North Carolina. At each of the three study locations, two separate assemblies of Lexicon terms for travel time reliability information were delivered using three distinct methods: study website, mobile smartphone application, and traditional keypad response 511 system.

The study approach allowed the research team to compare the results of travelers' survey responses regarding a particular trip with their actual recorded position data during that trip. The trip data, combined with participants' survey responses from the beginning and end of the study, were used to assess the effectiveness and utility of TTR data to travelers in these three different areas of the United States.

1 Kuhn, B., L. Higgins, A. Nelson, M. Finley, G. Ullman, S. Chrysler, K. Wunderlich, V. Shah, C. Dudek. A Lexicon for Conveying Travel Time Reliability Information. SHRP2 Reliability Project L14. SHRP 2 Report S2-L14-RW-2, National Academy of Sciences, 2014. [return to 1]
2 Kuhn, B., L. Higgins, A. Nelson, M. Finley, G. Ullman, S. Chrysler, K. Wunderlich, V. Shah, C. Dudek. Effectiveness of Different Approaches to Disseminating Traveler Information on Travel Time Reliability. SHRP2 Reliability Project L14. SHRP 2 Report S2-L14-RW-1. National Academy of Sciences, 2014. [return to 2]

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