Survey approach for study of urban commuter choice dynamics

A methodology to capture the day-to-day dynamics of user behavior in a commuting context is described. A two-staged survey was designed to obtain detailed information on the commuting habits in the north Dallas area for an extended period of time. In the first stage of the survey a one-page, two-sided questionnaire was sent to 13,000 households in the selected area. Information from the first stage provided a reliable characterization of the population of interest and prevailing commuting patterns. The second stage involved respondents of the first stage who were willing to provide more information on their commuting habits. This stage was considerably more detailed, consisting primarily of an activity diary limited to the commuting trips from home and returning to home. It included information on trip chaining, departure time, and path choice, at a level of detail previously unavailable. The information was obtained for a period ranging from 1 to 2 weeks. The two-staged format proved to be a cost-effective and practical method of obtaining the kind of information needed to study the dynamics of commuting behavior.