Modeling experienced accessibility for utility-maximizers and regret-minimizers

• Published in: Journal of transport geography Vol. 19; no. 6; pp. 1155 - 1162
• Main Authors: Chorus, Caspar G., de Jong, Gerard C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2011
• Subjects: Accessibility; Approximation; Decision making; Decision-utility; Exact solutions; Experienced-utility; Geography; Logsum; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Random Regret Minimization; Transport; Utilities; Experienced-utility; Logsum; Accessibility; Decision-utility; Random Regret Minimization
• ISSN: 0966-6923; 1873-1236; 1873-1236
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2011.02.009

► Logsum-based measures of accessibility measure decision-utility, but should ideally measure experienced utility. ► Paper presents alternatives that approximate experienced utility by allowing for preference and evaluation-rule volatility. ► Numerical analyses suggest that the different accessibility measures may imply different land use/transport strategies. This paper argues that there is a discrepancy between what Logsum-measures of accessibility aim to measure (experienced-utility) and what they actually measure (decision-utility). The latter type of utility refers to the evaluation of an alternative with the aim of making a decision, while the former refers to the evaluation of a chosen alternative after the choice has been made. We argue that accessibility should preferably be conceptualized and operationalized in terms of experienced-utility, but that this type of utility is difficult to measure. Motivated by these observations we show, taking the Logsum as a starting point, how its building blocks (parameters estimated from choice patterns) can be used to construct closed-form and easy to compute accessibility-measures that provide an approximation of experienced-utility. We distinguish between decision-making based on utility-maximization and regret-minimization premises. Using a small-scale case-study building on departure time-choice data, we illustrate the working of the developed accessibility-measures and highlight how they differ from the Logsum-approach.