Micro-data collection and development of trip generation models of commercial vehicles: An application for Windsor, Ontario

In recent years, the field of transportation research has received increased interest from researchers and modeling methods have seen significant development. This thesis presents the development of a statistical microsimulation model for trip generation in the Windsor, Ontario Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). A novel methodology was developed to collect information from local firms using a combination phone and web-survey. Establishment-level data about business characteristics and commercial vehicle activities in the study area was collected from 171 establishments for analysis. Ordered logit models were used to determine the factors affecting the number of inbound and outbound commercial vehicle trips. The modeling results show that establishment characteristics are more effective in representing outbound movements than inbound. The model results are useful in explaining some of the factors giving rise to commercial trip generation, as well as revealing areas where further research is required, for a more complete understanding of commercial behaviours.