Special events travel surveys and model development

Abstract The travel associated with special events in any metropolitan region is often under-represented in regional travel demand models owing to the lack of travel data to and from these events. This paper presents a comprehensive data collection effort aimed at capturing travel data related to special events and development of a standalone special events model for the Phoenix metropolitan area. The importance of this study was highlighted by the success of the introduction of light rail transit in the region. Special event patrons constitute a significant portion of the light rail ridership and overall regional travel demand. Therefore, the need to better understand and forecast transit markets served as the impetus to conduct an in-depth study and modeling of planned special events in the region. This paper focuses on all aspects of data collection and model development including survey design and sampling plan, collection of special events travel data, expansion of survey data, model design, estimation and development of the special events model, calibration and validation, integration with the four step trip based model, and the impact on light rail transit ridership due to special event travel.