Travel simulators for data collection on driver behavior in the presence of information

• Published in: Transportation research. Part C, Emerging technologies Emerging technologies, 1995-06, Vol.3 (3), p.143-159
• Main Authors: Koutsopoulos, Haris N, Polydoropoulou, Amalia, Ben-Akiva, Moshe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0968-090X; 1879-2359
• DOI: 10.1016/0968-090X(95)00003-2

Understanding traveler response to potential ATIS services is critical for designing such services and evaluating their effectiveness. Extensive data is required for developing the models necessary to provide this understanding. In this paper we examine one source of such data: traveler simulators. We make a distinction between travel simulators, used to study the travelers response to information acquisition, and driving simulators, which are elaborate tools used mainly for human factors research. Traveler simulators have the potential to provide a wealth of data collected relatively inexpensively under controlled conditions. However the data may suffer from biases introduced because of the laboratory nature of travel simulators. We examine various existing simulators and comment on their advantages and disadvantages. We make recommendations for simulator design characteristics that increase the reliability of the data collected and suggest enhancements so that current simulators can be used for the collection of data related to access and acquisition of ATIS products as well. We conclude the paper with recommendations for future research in the area.