Waiting Tolerance: Ramp Delay Vs. Freeway Congestion

Levinson, David Matthew; Harder, Kathleen; Bloomfield,, John; Carlson, Kathy

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Waiting Tolerance: Ramp Delay Vs. Freeway Congestion

Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 1-13, January 2006

31 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2008

See all articles by David Matthew Levinson

Kathleen Harder

Center for Design in Health & Human Factors Program

Waiting tolerance at ramp meters and travel time on the freewaywere measured using a computer administered stated preference (CASP) survey and a virtual experience stated preference (VESP) methodemploying a driving simulator.The selections varied in the number of minutes waiting at a ramp meter with vehicle speed once on the freeway. The subjects ranked the selections in order of preference. The results were statistically analyzed using a binary logit model controlling for demographics, socioeconomic characteristics, daily travel time, and personality scores.The results by the CASP method displayed a preference for freeway congestion to ramp delay, but opposite results were obtained by the VESP method. A number of reasons are posited to explain the difference, but the results indicate that method of stated preference data collection can significantly affect conclusions drawn.

Keywords: Ramp meters, Personality, Stated preference, Driving simulator, Travel time

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Levinson, David Matthew and Harder, Kathleen and Bloomfield,, John and Carlson, Kathy, Waiting Tolerance: Ramp Delay Vs. Freeway Congestion. Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 1-13, January 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1091816