Evaluating the importance of accessibility to congestion response using a GIS-based travel simulator

 This paper examines the effect of accessibility on individual response to unexpected traffic delays and congestion. The dataset used was collected by means of a travel simulator developed within a geographic information system (GIS) environment. The simulator models a commute trip where congestion takes place, and subjects are asked to respond by making a choice among alternative courses of action. Available alternatives for dealing with the unexpected traffic delay include changing the location of the planned activities or changing the activities to be performed. Accessibility to the new locations and to the different activities is computed using a cumulative measure. Analysis using CHAID tree technique found that accessibility is a good predictor of subjects' choice when responding to unexpected traffic delays. Received: September 2002 / Accepted: January 2003 Support for this research by a grant from the Center of Intelligent Transportation Research of the Ohio State University is gratefully acknowledged. The author would also like to thank Joe Weber, Mei-Po Kwan and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.