IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transa/v45y2011i7p625-639.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mind the map! The impact of transit maps on path choice in public transit

Author

Listed:
  • Guo, Zhan

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of schematic transit maps on passengers' travel decisions. It does two things: First, it proposes an analysis framework that defines four types of information delivered from a transit map: distortion, restoration, codification, and cognition. It then considers the potential impact of this information on three types of travel decisions: location, mode, and path choices.1 Second, it conducts an empirical analysis to explore the impact of the famous London tube map on passengers' path choice in the London Underground (LUL). Using data collected by LUL from 1998 to 2005, the paper develops a path choice model and compares the influence between the distorted tube map (map distance) and reality (travel time) on passengers' path choice behavior. Results show that the elasticity of the map distance is twice that of the travel time, which suggests that passengers often trust the tube map more than their own travel experience on deciding the "best" travel path. This is true even for the most experienced passengers using the system. The codification of transfer connections on the tube map, either as a simple dot or as an extended link, could affect passengers' transfer decisions. The implications to transit operation and planning, such as trip assignments, overcrowding mitigation, and the deployment of Advanced Transit Information System (ATIS), are also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Guo, Zhan, 2011. "Mind the map! The impact of transit maps on path choice in public transit," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(7), pages 625-639, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:45:y:2011:i:7:p:625-639
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856411000590
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrew Mondschein & Evelyn Blumenberg & Brian Taylor, 2010. "Accessibility and Cognition: The Effect of Transport Mode on Spatial Knowledge," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(4), pages 845-866, April.
    2. T. Arentze & H. Timmermans, 2005. "Representing mental maps and cognitive learning in micro-simulation models of activity-travel choice dynamics," Transportation, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 321-340, July.
    3. Ben-Elia, Eran & Shiftan, Yoram, 2010. "Which road do I take? A learning-based model of route-choice behavior with real-time information," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 249-264, May.
    4. Erel Avineri & Joseph Prashker, 2006. "The Impact of Travel Time Information on Travelers’ Learning under Uncertainty," Transportation, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 393-408, July.
    5. Caspar Chorus & Theo Arentze & Harry Timmermans, 2007. "Information impact on quality of multimodal travel choices: conceptualizations and empirical analyses," Transportation, Springer, vol. 34(6), pages 625-645, November.
    6. Raveau, Sebastián & Muñoz, Juan Carlos & de Grange, Louis, 2011. "A topological route choice model for metro," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 138-147, February.
    7. Eran Ben-Elia & Ido Erev & Yoram Shiftan, 2008. "The combined effect of information and experience on drivers’ route-choice behavior," Transportation, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 165-177, March.
    8. Richard H. M. Emmerink & Peter Nijkamp & Piet Rietveld & Jos N. Van Ommeren & Richard H. M. Emmerink & Peter Nijkamp & Piet Rietveld & Jos N. Van Ommeren, 2004. "Variable Message Signs and Radio Traffic Information: An Integrated Empirical Analysis of Drivers’ Route Choice Behaviour," Chapters, in: Location, Travel and Information Technology, chapter 16, pages 343-361, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Golledge, Reginald G., 1995. "Path Selection and Route Preference in Human Navigation: A Progress Report," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt9jn5r27v, University of California Transportation Center.
    10. Shlomo Bekhor & Moshe Ben-Akiva & M. Ramming, 2006. "Evaluation of choice set generation algorithms for route choice models," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 235-247, April.
    11. Guo, Zhan & Wilson, Nigel H.M., 2011. "Assessing the cost of transfer inconvenience in public transport systems: A case study of the London Underground," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 91-104, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Guo, Zhan & Zhao, Jinhua & Whong, Chris & Mishra, Prachee & Wyman, Lance, 2017. "Redesigning subway map to mitigate bottleneck congestion: An experiment in Washington DC using Mechanical Turk," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 158-169.
    2. Hamid Mostofi, 2021. "The Association between ICT-Based Mobility Services and Sustainable Mobility Behaviors of New Yorkers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Becker, Kai Helge, 2016. "An outlook on behavioural OR – Three tasks, three pitfalls, one definition," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 249(3), pages 806-815.
    4. Ding Luo & Oded Cats & Hans Lint, 2020. "Can passenger flow distribution be estimated solely based on network properties in public transport systems?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 2757-2776, December.
    5. P. Christopher Zegras & Emily Eros & Kuan Butts & Elizabeth Resor & Stephen Kennedy & Albert Ching & Muntasir Mamun, 2015. "Tracing a path to knowledge? Indicative user impacts of introducing a public transport map in Dhaka, Bangladesh," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 8(1), pages 113-129.
    6. Szabolcs Duleba & Sarbast Moslem, 2018. "Sustainable Urban Transport Development with Stakeholder Participation, an AHP-Kendall Model: A Case Study for Mersin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-14, October.
    7. Alfred Andersson & Lena Winslott Hiselius & Jessica Berg & Sonja Forward & Peter Arnfalk, 2020. "Evaluating a Mobility Service Application for Business Travel: Lessons Learnt from a Demonstration Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-18, January.
    8. Shaun Larcom & Ferdinand Rauch & Tim Willems, 2017. "The Benefits of Forced Experimentation: Striking Evidence from the London Underground Network," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(4), pages 2019-2055.
    9. Weckström, Christoffer & Mladenović, Miloš N. & Kujala, Rainer & Saramäki, Jari, 2021. "Navigability assessment of large-scale redesigns in nine public transport networks: Open timetable data approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 212-229.
    10. Liu, Yang & Feng, Tao & Shi, Zhuangbin & He, Mingwei, 2022. "Understanding the route choice behaviour of metro-bikeshare users," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 460-475.
    11. Nicholas Klein, 2017. "More than just a bus ride: The role of perceptions in travel behaviour," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(11), pages 2490-2503, August.
    12. Thigpen, Calvin, 2017. "The Reciprocal Relationship between Children and Young Adults' Travel Behavior and Their Travel Attitudes, Skills, and Norms," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt383679dd, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    13. Mulley, Corinne & Clifton, Geoffrey Tilden & Balbontin, Camila & Ma, Liang, 2017. "Information for travelling: Awareness and usage of the various sources of information available to public transport users in NSW," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 111-132.
    14. Frappier, Alexis & Morency, Catherine & Trépanier, Martin, 2018. "Measuring the quality and diversity of transit alternatives," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 51-59.
    15. Waara, Nina & Brundell-Freij, Karin & Risser, Ralf & Ståhl, Agneta, 2015. "Feasible provision of targeted traveler information in public transportation: Segmentation based on functional limitations," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 164-173.
    16. Abhishek Nagaraj & Scott Stern, 2020. "The Economics of Maps," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(1), pages 196-221, Winter.
    17. Jessica Schoner & David Levinson, 2013. "Which Station? Access Trips and Bike Share Route Choice," Working Papers 000117, University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group.
    18. Creemers, Lieve & Tormans, Hans & Bellemans, Tom & Janssens, Davy & Wets, Geert & Cools, Mario, 2015. "Knowledge of the concept Light Rail Transit: Exploring its relevance and identification of the determinants of various knowledge levels," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 31-43.
    19. Daniel A Rodriguez & Jennifer Rogers, 2014. "Can Housing and Accessibility Information Influence Residential Location Choice and Travel Behavior? An Experimental Study," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 41(3), pages 534-550, June.
    20. Ikki Kim & Hyoung-Chul Kim & Dong-Jeong Seo & Jung In Kim, 2020. "Calibration of a transit route choice model using revealed population data of smartcard in a multimodal transit network," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(5), pages 2179-2202, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kemel, Emmanuel & Paraschiv, Corina, 2013. "Prospect Theory for joint time and money consequences in risk and ambiguity," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 81-95.
    2. Chorus, Caspar G. & Arentze, Theo A. & Molin, Eric J.E. & Timmermans, Harry J.P. & Van Wee, Bert, 2006. "The value of travel information: Decision strategy-specific conceptualizations and numerical examples," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 504-519, July.
    3. Manley, Ed & Cheng, Tao, 2018. "Exploring the role of spatial cognition in predicting urban traffic flow through agent-based modelling," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 14-23.
    4. Ben-Elia, Eran & Ettema, Dick, 2011. "Rewarding rush-hour avoidance: A study of commuters' travel behavior," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(7), pages 567-582, August.
    5. Fernando Romero & Juan Gomez & Thais Rangel & Rafael Jurado-Piña & José Manuel Vassallo, 2020. "The influence of variable message signs on en-route diversion between a toll highway and a free competing alternative," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1665-1687, August.
    6. Ben-Elia, Eran & Alexander, Bayarma & Hubers, Christa & Ettema, Dick, 2014. "Activity fragmentation, ICT and travel: An exploratory Path Analysis of spatiotemporal interrelationships," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 56-74.
    7. Casper G. Chorus & Harry J.P. Timmermans, 2011. "Personal Intelligent Travel Assistants," Chapters, in: André de Palma & Robin Lindsey & Emile Quinet & Roger Vickerman (ed.), A Handbook of Transport Economics, chapter 25, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Kazagli, Evanthia & Bierlaire, Michel & Flötteröd, Gunnar, 2016. "Revisiting the route choice problem: A modeling framework based on mental representations," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 1-23.
    9. Nassir, Neema & Hickman, Mark & Malekzadeh, Ali & Irannezhad, Elnaz, 2016. "A utility-based travel impedance measure for public transit network accessibility," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 26-39.
    10. Guo, Zhan & Loo, Becky P.Y., 2013. "Pedestrian environment and route choice: evidence from New York City and Hong Kong," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 124-136.
    11. Poulopoulou, Maria & Spyropoulou, Ioanna, 2019. "Active traffic management in urban areas: Is it effective for professional drivers? The case of variable message signs," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 412-423.
    12. Felipe González & Carlos Melo-Riquelme & Louis Grange, 2016. "A combined destination and route choice model for a bicycle sharing system," Transportation, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 407-423, May.
    13. Koster, Paul & Peer, Stefanie & Dekker, Thijs, 2015. "Memory, expectation formation and scheduling choices," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 256-265.
    14. Eran Ben-Elia & Robert Ishaq & Yoram Shiftan, 2013. "“If only I had taken the other road...”: Regret, risk and reinforced learning in informed route-choice," Transportation, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 269-293, February.
    15. Innocenti, Alessandro & Lattarulo, Patrizia & Pazienza, Maria Grazia, 2013. "Car stickiness: Heuristics and biases in travel choice," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 158-168.
    16. Zhang, Qianran & Ma, Shoufeng & Tian, Junfang & Rose, John M. & Jia, Ning, 2022. "Mode choice between autonomous vehicles and manually-driven vehicles: An experimental study of information and reward," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 24-39.
    17. Mondschein, Andrew Samuel, 2013. "The Personal City: The Experiential, Cognitive Nature of Travel and Activity and Implications for Accessibility," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt7014d9cg, University of California Transportation Center.
    18. Nielsen, Otto Anker & Eltved, Morten & Anderson, Marie Karen & Prato, Carlo Giacomo, 2021. "Relevance of detailed transfer attributes in large-scale multimodal route choice models for metropolitan public transport passengers," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 76-92.
    19. Ben-Elia, Eran & Shiftan, Yoram, 2010. "Which road do I take? A learning-based model of route-choice behavior with real-time information," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 249-264, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:45:y:2011:i:7:p:625-639. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/547/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.