Value of Time estimation considering Automated Vehicle Impacts (VOTAVI)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Constantinos Antoniou
• Subject Area: Traffic and Transport Systems, Intelligent and Automated Traffic
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 532419418

Value of travel time, or interchangeably, value of time (VOT) has been a crucial instrument for travel demand modeling, travel behavior analytics, transport policy, and investment evaluation. With the introduction of autonomous modes, such as autonomous vehicles (AVs), but also autonomous Urban Air Mobility (UAM), the perception of VOT is fundamentally changed as AVs enable individuals the capability of performing multiple tasks while traveling. VOTAVI aims at defining a novel methodological framework for the estimation of VOT in the era of AVs, utilizing innovative data collection methods that would allow to explore more thoroughly the impact of latent personal characteristics on their choices. VOTAVI will systematically examine, based on a critical assessment of the current state of the art of value of timing research and offer innovative improvements that reflect emerging lifestyles, technological breakthroughs, and new mobility concepts in different activity contexts. The potential of receding from the travel time minimization paradigm in the era of autonomous vehicles requires the identification of the factors that influence perceptions on travel (including new sets of lifestyles, preferences, and behaviors). VOTAVI goal is twofold: a) provide an exploration of these factors by the creation of a series of surveys that would investigate the value of travel time in a novel use of both revealed preference (RP) and stated preference (SP); and b) explore the potential of novel data collection techniques to provide a more thorough investigation for the exploration of VOT changes. This investigation will be implemented through the development of both a web-based stated preference survey and a smartphone app. The developed instruments will allow assessing the potential impact of AVs on VOT perception by considering in-vehicle activity participation, individual personality traits, attitudinal towards AVs, and other conventional factors like transport mode, trip purpose, distance traveled and reliability. Based on the collected empirical data, the project will develop new methodologies using discrete choice models to investigate VOT under different scenarios of AVs. The project is organized into four work packages. WP1 is devoted to web-based SP experiments design and implementation for VOT estimation. WP2 contributes to smartphone application prototype development. WP3 is dedicated to RP/SP experiments using the smartphone-based app for both pilot studies and its wide deployment. WP4 is devoted to data analysis and model development for VOT estimation. We adopt flexible project management with overlaps between the WPs.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Luxembourg
• Partner Organisation: Fonds National de la Recherche
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Tai-Yu Ma