EFFECT OF TRAVEL TIME AND DISTANCE ON FREEWAY USAGE

UNTIL RECENTLY, LITTLE INFORMATION HAS BEEN AVAILABLE CONCERNING THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE MOTORISTS IN CHOOSING ROUTES OF TRAVEL IN URBAN AREAS. ALTHOUGH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FACTORS MAY BE INVOLVED, THE EFFECTS OF TRAVEL TIME AND TRAVEL DISTANCE SEEM ESPECIALLY DESIRABLE FOR INITIAL STUDY, BECAUSE THEY ARE ITEMS THAT CAN BE MEASURED WITH REASONABLE ACCURACY ON ANY ROUTE AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE ACTION OF TRAFFIC RELATED TO THE USAGE OF THAT ROUTE. THE RELATION OF THESE TWO FACTORS TO THE USAGE OF THE SHIRLEY HIGHWAY, A FREEWAY IN ARLINGTON AND FAIRFAX COUNTIES, VIRGINIA, IS REPORTED IN THIS PAPER. THE RESULTS FROM THIS STUDY MUST BE INTEGRATED WITH THOSE FROM SIMILAR STUDIES NOW UNDERWAY IN OTHER URBAN AREAS BEFORE DEFINITE CONCLUSIONS CAN BE REACHED. IN GENERAL, THOUGH, IT APPEARS THAT MOTORISTS REGARD TRAVEL TIMES AS MORE IMPORTANT THAN DISTANCE IN CHOOSING A ROUTE OF TRAVEL. OF ALL THE TRIPS ON THE SHIRLEY HIGHWAY EXAMINED, ONLY 38 PERCENT SAVED DISTANCE WHILE 81 PERCENT SAVED TIME. THAT MOTORISTS ARE ALSO INFLUENCED TO SOME EXTENT BY FACTORS OTHER THAN TRAVEL TIME TIME AND DISTANCE IS EVIDENCED BY THE FACT THAT 19 PERCENT LOST BOTH TIME AND DISTANCE. FUTHERMORE, OF ALL THE TRIPS STUDIED THAT COULD HAVE SAVED BOTH TIME AND DISTANCE ON THE DISTANCE ON THE SHIRLEY HIGHWAY, 10 PERCENT USED AN ALTERNATE ROUTE INSTEAD. /AUTHOR/