TRANSIT PRE-TRIP INFORMATION SYSTEMS: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION ACQUISITION AND ITS IMPACTS ON MODE USE

Advanced pre-trip transit information systems can contribute to the improvement of transit service levels by providing their users with information on transit routes, schedules, fares, and opportunities around transit stops. By providing information and possibly changing the users' attitudes toward public transit, such systems may also entice more travelers to public transit. To aid in the development of effective transit information systems and to evaluate their potential usefulness, in-laboratory interviews were conducted with approximately 50 subjects who used a personal computer (PC)-based information system prototype during the interview sessions. The menu-driven prototype conveyed information on the bus transit system in Davis, California. The subjects were recruited from the nearby Sacramento metropolitan area while controlling for age and sex. The objectives of the study were: 1) to determine which types of information are more important to the user; 2) to examine whether an exposure to the information system alters the users' perception of transit attributes and their attitudes toward public transit; and 3) to assess user receptiveness of such an information system. Based on the data thus obtained, the potential usefulness of transit information systems is inferred and guidelines for designing such systems are proposed in the study.