New Survey Methodology: Measuring Traveler Awareness, Use, and Response to Real-Time Travel Information with Pulse Surveys

Congested transportation networks have significant impacts on regional resources and individual travelers alike, and in response, communities often look to increase network capacity. However, adding new roads or new lanes to existing highways can be an expensive undertaking, especially in dense urban areas where congestion is more severe. Communities may find it is more cost-effective to manage demand so it is more evenly distributed across existing capacity. One way to do this is to provide travelers with comprehensive real-time information so that they can make more personally efficient transportation decisions that also help distribute travel demand across the total capacity in a multi-modal travel corridor. The Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Initiative seeks to test the effectiveness of this kind of solution. ICM researchers recruited a panel of travelers at two Pioneer sites and collected baseline data on panel members’ travel and information use habits. This baseline survey was followed by three months of pulse surveys which measured panel members’ use of and satisfaction with real-time travel information during specific traffic incidents. A second set of pulse surveys and a final survey will measure how panel members’ behaviors have changed after the implementation of ICM strategies. The pulse survey design offers a responsive and customizable method for collecting individual reactions to congestion and travel demand management strategies. This paper reviews the methods used to administer pulse surveys for the ICM Initiative Traveler Response Evaluation.