Spatial Behavioral Data: Collection and Use in Activity Scheduling Models

Transport models and their practical applications are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, thus requiring more precise input data, including spatial data. The development, testing, and assessment of a survey method with which to collect multiday information on activity–travel patterns with a high level of spatial detail and accuracy are described. The survey consists of a computer-assisted, self-completing weekly household activity-travel diary survey program combined with an interactive map for spatial data input and visualization. Compared with traditional paper-and-pencil surveys, more accurate spatial data is gathered through this survey, especially for activity locations, routes, and trip lengths, which a first trial on a small sample of 30 households clearly demonstrated. In addition, more details on activity and travel times were collected. Fatigue effects did not become evident, and the respondent burden was considered to be acceptable by the participants. Additional testing of the respondents’ map-handling abilities showed that people have different map-orientation aptitudes that depend on sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, income, and education. This suggests that maps incorporated in travel surveys should be adapted in different ways to accommodate different levels of map handling. Future household travel surveys, especially emerging computerized and Global Positioning System-supported methods, would appear to benefit from the integration of a spatial interface both to add detail and to reduce respondent burden. This is particularly important for activity-based or activity-scheduling surveys, which increasingly attempt to obtain higher amounts of precise and detailed information on individual behavior and choices.