Search

Bluetooth (BT) time-stamped media access control (MAC) address data have been used for traffic studies worldwide. Although Bluetooth (BT) technology has been widely recognised as an effective, low-cost traffic data source in freeway traffic contexts, it is still unclear whether BT technology can provide accurate travel time (TT) information in complex urban traffic environments. Therefore, this empirical study aims to systematically evaluate the accuracy of BT travel time estimates in urban arterial contexts. There are two major hurdles to deriving accurate TT information for arterial roads: the multiple detection problem and noise in BT estimates. To date, they have not been fully investigated, nor have well-accepted solutions been found. Using approximately two million records of BT time-stamped MAC address data from twenty weekdays, this study uses five different BT TT-matching methods to investigate and quantify the impact of multiple detection problems and the noise in BT TT estimates on the accuracy of average BT travel times. Our work shows that accurate Bluetooth-based travel time information on signalised arterial roads can be derived if an appropriate matching method can be selected to smooth out the remaining noise in the filtered travel time estimates. Overall, average-to-average and last-to-last matching methods are best for long (>1 km) and short (≤1 km) signalised arterial road segments, respectively. Furthermore, our results show that the differences between BT and ground truth average TTs or speeds are systematic, and adding a calibration is a pragmatic method to correct inaccurate BT average TTs or speeds. The results of this research can help researchers and road operators to better understand BT technology for TT analysis and consequently to optimise the deployment location and configuration of BT MAC address scanners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wayfinding is an important aspect that should be considered by tourist park managers when allocating resources and facilities to aid tourists navigating their way through a park. This paper discusses wayfinding as a cognitive psychological process. It presents four models of the wayfinding process based on visitor levels of familiarity with the physical environment, whether the expected itinerary was pre-planned or unplanned and the spatial and temporal scales encountered in the tourist visit. The relationship between wayfinding decision-making and the roles of landmarks and cognitive map generation for each type of wayfinding process are analysed and summarised. A case study is conducted to test these four models. Wayfinding where travellers are unfamiliar with the environment but wayfinding aids are offered to travellers for a small area is the most popular type encountered in the case study. This paper highlights the need for tourist managers to understand that tourists use different methods of wayfinding and that management should provide complementary materials to assist in wayfinding. The next stage in this research will be to focus on the relationship between individual differences and wayfinding. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Estimating travel mode and airline choice using air and non-air passengers' stated preference data. • Accommodating passengers' preference heterogeneity using latent class models. • Investigating the differences in travel mode choice, socio-demographics and trip characteristics among passenger segments. • Examining willingness to pay (WTP) of the travellers. This paper investigates travel mode and airline choice using stated-preference data. Both air and non-air passengers' data were collected in Western Australia, which allows easier generalisability of the findings to a wider population. A market segmentation approach, using latent class modelling, was applied to identify passenger segments. The results shown a significant difference between identified segments in terms of demographics, economics and trip characteristics. One segment, comprising travellers with higher income and more frequent business travellers, was sensitive to service-factors. The other, comprising personal travellers with lower incomes, placed higher sensitivity on price. The findings highlight the importance of understanding mode choice behaviour based on market segmentation and provides insights to policy-makers and airlines for developing more effective polices and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]