Analysis And Modeling Of Carpooling Behavior Under The Provision Of High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes

In order to alleviate road traffic pressure,city managers have been committed to promoting the shift of traffic mode from low load factors to high load factors.High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes(HOV Lanes)in some cities are used for the exclusive use of carpooling vehicles in peak periods to promote carpool.The implementation effect of HOV Lanes depends on the public’s acceptance and adoption of HOV Lanes.Exporing the travelers’ perceptions and understanding their travel experience of HOV Lanes are of great significance to promote carpool,improve the road utilization ratio,and ease congestion.Data was collected based on the Revealed Preference and Stated Preference online surveys to obtain the travel preference data of travelers,in which the questionnaire was designed according to Diffusion of Innovation.The private car owners in Shenzhen with HOV Lanes were selected as respondents.The mechanism of the impacts of HOV Lanes on the carpooling behavior is explored,and the possible impacts of converting HOV Lanes to High Occupancy Toll(HOT)Lanes on the carpooling behavior are analyzed in this study.The study in this thesis is as follows:1)First,based on the existing studies,the influencing factors of the carpooling behavior after setting HOV/ HOT Lanes,including the individual socio-demographic characteristics,the settings of HOV Lanes,the individual perceptions and preference of HOV Lanes,the carpooling behavior,and tolls are reviewed in this thesis.2)Then,considering the socio-demographic characteristics and latent perceptions of travelers,the model of carpooling behaviors under the provision of HOV Lanes is proposed based on the Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause Model and Logistic Model.The influencing factors of carpooling behavior are determined.The proposed model is simplified to increase the model interpretation ability according to estimation of model parameters.Considering the group heterogeneity,a model combined with Latent Class Analysis is established to further explore the key influencing factors of travelers’ carpooling behavior after setting HOV Lanes,which improves the interpretation ability of the model.3)Finally,a Nested Logit Model is established to analyze travelers’ traffic mode(paying the toll or carpooling)after setting HOT Lanes based on the sensitivity of travelers to the toll.The factors of choosing the traffic mode are revealed,and suggestions for developing pricing strategies of HOT Lanes to improve facility operations are provided.The results show that new travel demand is stimulated aftering setting HOV Lanes(new travel demand refers to the one from people who transfer to carpool from bus/subway).Age and the individual latent perceptions can significantly affect the individual’s choice behavior after setting HOV Lanes,and different latent classes have a moderating effect on the causal relationship between the latent perceptions of individuals and their carpooling behavior.To a certain extent,the willingness of passengers to carpool is reduced after the conversion of HOV Lanes to HOT Lanes.Age and profit obtain by paying for toll are the key factors that affect travelers’ choice of paying or carpooling,and in the paying group,monthly income level will significantly affect their paying level.