DEPARTURE TIME CHOICE MODELING: AN EXPLORATION FOR THE SMART (STRATEGIC MODEL FOR ANALYZING REGIONAL TRAVEL PATTERNS) REGIONAL MODEL

SMART (Strategic Model for Analyzing Regional Travel patterns) is a flexible regional transport model which is in development by TNO Inro since 1990. Because SMART is a static model, time can not be meticulously divided into several time slices. Therefore, only two time periods are distinguished: peak and off-peak period. At present, traffic demand in these two time periods is calculated strictly parallel, without interaction between them. This report contains the results of a study consisting of two phases. In the first phase, a modest literature survey has been done, resulting in an inventory of different types of departure time choice (DTC) models. It appears that the differences between DTC models in literature mainly involve the time aspect. In the second part of the study, the knowledge gained in the first phase has been used to build a conceptual DTC model for SMART. Due to the static nature of SMART it can only be equipped with a static DTC model. It is proposed to introduce the choice by peak travelers of an alternative departure time in the off-peak period as if it were an additional mode of travel. The DTC model proposed is expected to yield a good modeling of the aggregated departure time change decisions with minimal modification to the actual model.