A Bivariate Multinomial Probit Model for Trip Scheduling: Bayesian Analysis of the Work Tour

Jason D. Lemp (), Kara M. Kockelman () and Paul Damien ()
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Jason D. Lemp: Cambridge Systematics, Inc., Austin, Texas 78759
Kara M. Kockelman: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
Paul Damien: McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712

Transportation Science, 2012, vol. 46, issue 3, 405-424

Abstract: As tour-based methods for activity and travel participation patterns replace trip-based methods, time-of-day (TOD) choice modeling remains problematic. In practice, most travel demand model systems handle tour scheduling via joint-choice multinomial logit (MNL) models, which suffer from the well-known independence of irrelevant alternatives assumption. This paper introduces a random utility maximization model of tour scheduling called the bivariate multinomial probit. This specification enables correlations across TOD alternatives, both outbound and return (on a tour) and over time slots (in a day). The model is estimated in a Bayesian setting on work-tour data from the San Francisco Bay Area with 30-minute time slots at most times of day (for both outbound and inbound journeys). Empirical results suggest that a variety of individual, household, and tour characteristics have reasonable effects on scheduling behavior. For instance, older persons typically pursue work tours at earlier times of day, part-time workers pursue their work tours later, and those with additional activities and tours tend to arrive slightly later and leave much earlier than those undertaking only a single tour, everything else constant. The model outperforms a comparable MNL, while offering reasonable implications under a variety of road-tolling scenarios.

Keywords: travel behavior modeling; tour scheduling; multinomial probit; Bayesian estimation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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