Commuter Response to Traffic Information on an Incident

How traffic information is obtained and how it affects travel behavior when a major freeway is congested are presented and discussed. Immediately following a major highway incident south of San Francisco that caused congestion, a telephone survey was conducted of commuters who use the affected corridor of the highway. The behavior of commuters before and during their commute at the time of the incident was determined, including obtaining traffic information and how the information influenced changes in route, mode of travel, and departure time. The results of the survey suggest that traveler behavior is largely unaffected by individual incidents of congestion. Furthermore, although a fair proportion of commuters do obtain traffic information, they do not often modify their travel behavior in response. This study is one of several that collectively will provide insight into how travel behavior changes over time and allow the authors to assess the impact of TravInfo Traveler Advisory Telephone System in the San Francisco Bay Area.