Using GPS Data to Understand the Day-to-Day Dynamics of the Morning Commute Behavior

This paper examined the day-to-day variability of the journey-to-work trips, including the departure time, route choice, and trip chaining behavior, using GPS-based disaggregate morning commute data of 56 drivers during a one-week period. Data were collected from the ongoing instrumented vehicle projects in Atlanta sponsored by NHTSA and FHWA. The paper examines alternate measurements of the day-to-day variability of the commute pattern. While commuting trips are often thought to be highly repetitious and therefore highly predictable trips, research results of this paper show that commuters change departure times more frequently than routes, and trip chaining significantly impact commuters’ departure time and route choice behavior. This paper begins to explore definitions and relationships that will be necessary to the better understanding of the day-to-day commute dynamics. TRB 2004 Annual Meeting CD-ROM Paper revised from original submittal. Li, Guensler, Ogle and Wang 3