6: Modelling Learning and Adaptation in Route and Departure Time Choice Behaviour: Achievements and Prospects

During the past decade, there has been an increasing interest in developing integrated land-use and transport models for the evaluation of various transport policies. In order to develop such models, there is a need to understand the interaction between transport system, travel behaviour and land use.

Regarding the studies into the interaction between transport system and travel behaviour, a lot of attention has been given to the analysis of the dynamics of commuters’ route and departure time choice decisions, as these decisions determine the major flow patterns in transport networks during peak periods. Of course, route and departure time choice are not the only choice dimensions available to commuters or the only ones which various transport policies are trying to influence. However, they constitute the short term behavioural responses to congestion and various transport policies, while the time frames for other choice dimensions i.e. mode shifts, and residence and job relocations tend to be of a longer term nature than these two dimensions.