Destination choice modeling with spatially distributed constraints
Basil Vitins
ASE (Analysis Simulation Engineering) AG
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6200-5155
Alexander Erath
FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2023.2226
Keywords: Destination, choice, model, transport, shadow, prices
Abstract
Destination choice models are a key component of any transport and land-use model. Applications in agent-based models allow for destination choice on an individual level including personal variables, like trip purpose, or situational variables. Commonly applied methodologies stem from econometrics, discrete choice theory and utility maximization using either revealed or stated preference data. This paper presents a framework to integrate cross-section flows between distinct geographic areas, which can be obtained from cordon surveys or mobile phone data. Proposed optimization methodology—based on extended shadow price theory—accommodates these complementary data sources as spatially distributed constraints, in addition to the destination capacity constraints such as workplaces.
The new generic and robust optimization methodology accounts for constraints as observed on cross-section flows and destination capacities while maintaining econometric choice model theory. As a proof of concept, the suggested methodology is successfully applied in a real-case, agent-based application covering the tri-national Basel region with about 2 million residents, and a large set of 2 · 104 distinct destination alternatives. Due to different wage levels in all three countries and other reasons, the region’s cross-border commuter flows are highly asymmetric. Including data on cross-border flows obtained from a cordon survey, the choice model’s mean deviation declines by 20% and more on a cross-section level and even more so on a choice alternative level, compared to calculations ignoring shadow prices. Moreover, multiple scenario calculations show considerable improvements in planning and forecasting applications. The results demonstrate the suitability and relevance of the proposed approach to optimize destination choice models with limited destination capacities in geographical regions usually characterized by travel demand asymmetries.
References
ActivitySim. (2019). ActivitySim. https://activitysim.github.io/
Adler, T. J., & Ben-Akiva, M. E. (1976). Joint-choice model for frequency, destination and travel mode for shopping trips. Transportation Research Record, 569, 136–150.
Adnan, M., Pereira, F., Lima Azevedo, C., Basak, K., Lovric, M., … & Ben-Akiva, M. (2016). SimMobility: A multi-scale integrated agent-based simulation platform. Paper presented at the 95th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, January 10–14.
Anas, A. (1983). Discrete choice theory, information-theory and the multinomial logit and gravity models. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 17(1), 13–23.
Bau- und Verkehrsdepartement Basel-Stadt. (2015). Gesamtverkehrsmodell der Region Basel 2012 [Final report]. Basel, Switzerland: Building and Transport Department.
Beckmann, M. J., & Wallace, J. P. (1969). Evaluation of user benefits arising from changes in transportation systems. Transportation Science, 3(4), 344–351.
Ben-Akiva, M. E. (1973). Structure of passenger travel demand models [PhD Thesis], Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
Ben-Akiva, M. E., & Lerman, S. R. (1985). Discrete choice analysis: Theory and application to travel demand. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Bernardin, V. L., Ferdous, N., Sadrsadat, H., Trevino, S., & Chen, C. (2017). Integration of the national long distance passenger travel demand model with the Tennessee statewide model and calibration to big data. Transportation Research Record, 2653, 75–81.
BfS. (2019). Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS). http://www.bfs.admin.ch
Bhat, C. R., & Guo, J. Y. (2004). A mixed spatially correlated logit model: Formulation and application to residential choice modeling. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 38(2), 147–168.
Bhat, C. R., Guo, J. Y., Srinivasan, S., & Sivakumar, A. (2004). A comprehensive econometric microsimulator for daily activity-travel patterns (CEMDAP). Transportation Research Record, 1894, 57–66.
Bhattacharyya, A., Kutlu, L., & Sickles, R. C. (2019). Pricing inputs and outputs: Market prices versus shadow prices, market power, and welfare analysis. In T. ten Raa & W. H. Greene (Eds.), Palgrave handbook of economic performance analysis. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Bierlaire, M. (2019). PandasBiogeme: A short introduction. Lausanne, Switzerland: Transport and Molitiy Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. http://transp-or.epfl.ch/documents/technicalReports/Bier18.pdf
Bradley, M. A., Bowman, J. L., & Griesenbeck, B. (2010). SACSIM: An applied activity-based model system with fine-level spatial and temporal resolution. Journal of Choice Modelling, 3(1), 5–31.
de Palma, A., Picard, N., & Waddell, P. A. (2007). Discrete choice models with capacity constraints: An empirical analysis of the housing market of the greater Paris region. Journal of Urban Economics, 62(2), 204–230.
Deming, W. E., & Stephan, F. F. (1940). On the least squares adjustment of a sampled frequency table when the expected marginal totals are known. Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 11(4), 427–444.
Fotheringham, A. S. (1986). Modelling hierarchical destination choice. Environment and Planning A, 18(3), 401–418.
Frejinger, E., Bierlaire, M., & Ben-Akiva, M. E. (2009). Sampling of alternatives for route choice modeling. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 43(10), 984–994.
Gupta, S., Vovsha, P., Kumar, R., & Subhani, A. (2014). Incorporating cycling in Ottawa-Gatineau travel forecasting model. Paper presented at the 5th Conference on Innovations in Travel Modeling, Baltimore, MD, April 27–30.
Hackney, J. K., Vitins, B. J., & Bodenmann, B. R. (2013). Market-clearing models in FaLC. Paper presented at the 13th Swiss Transport Research Conference, Ascona, Switzerland, April 24-26. http://www.ivt.ethz.ch/vpl/publications/#867
Haftka, R. T., & Gürdar, Z. (1992). Elements of structural optimization. New York: Springer.
Horni, A., Nagel, K., & Axhausen, K. W. (Eds.). (2016). The multi-agent transport simulation MATSim. London: Ubiquity Press.
Horst, R. (1979). Nichtlineare optimierung. Munich: Carl Hanser Verlag.
Hurtubia, R., Martãnez, F., Flötteröd, G., & Bierlaire, M. (2010). Comparative analysis of hedonic rents and maximum bids in a land-use simulation context. Paper presented at the 10th Swiss Transport Research Conference, Ascona, Switzerland, September 1–3.
Kwan, M.-P., & Hong, X.-D. (1998). Network-based constraints-oriented choice set formation using GIS. Journal of Geographical Systems, 5, 139–162.
Lee, B. H. Y., & Waddell, P. A. (2010). Residential mobility and location choice: A nested logit model with sampling of alternatives. Transportation, 37(4), 587–601.
McFadden, D. (1974). Conditional logit analysis of qualitative choice-behavior. In P. Zarembka (Ed.), Frontiers in econometrics (S. 105–142). Cambridge, MA: Academic Press.
McFadden, D. (1978). Modeling the choice of residential location. In A. Karlqvist (Ed.), Spatial interaction theory and residential location (S. 75–96). Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Nerella, S., & Bhat, C. R. (2004). Numerical analysis of effect of sampling of alternatives in discrete choice models. Transportation Research Record, 1894, 11–19.
Ortuzar, J. de D., & Willumsen, L. G. (2011). Modelling transport (4th edition). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Prekopa, A. (1970). On probabilistic constrained programming (Bd. 113). In H. W. Kuhn (Ed.), Proceedings of the Princeton Symposium on Mathematical Programming. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Pukelsheim, F. (2013). Biproportional scaling of matrices and the iterative proportional fitting procedure. Annals of Operation Research, 215(1), 269–283.
Rasouli, S., & Timmermans, H. J. P. (2014). Activity-based models of travel demand: Promises, progress and prospects. The International Journal of Urban Sciences, 18(1), 31–60.
Rich, J., & Mulalic, I. (2012). Generating synthetic baseline populations from register data. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 46(3), 467–479.
Sener, I. N., Pendyala, R. M., & Bhat, C. R. (2011). Accommodating spatial correlation across choice alternatives in discrete choice models: An application to modeling residential location choice behavior. Journal of Transport Geography, 19(2), 294–303.
Spiess, H. (1996). A logit parking choice model with explicit capacities. Aegerten, Switzerland: Support Center, INRO.
Sun, L., & Erath, A. L. (2015). A Bayesian network approach for population synthesis. Paper presented at the 4th Symposium of the European Association for Research in Transportation, Copenhagen, September 9-11. http://www.ivt.ethz.ch/vpl/publications/#1081
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS). (2017). Verkehrsverhalten der Bevölkerung—Ergebnisse des Mikrozensus Mobilität und Verkehr 2015. Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS).
Thill, J.-C. (1992). Choice set formation for destination choice modelling. Progress in Human Geography, 16(3), 361–382.
Vitins, B. J., Erath, A., Fellendorf, M., & Arendt, M. (2021). Aktivitatenbasierte Verkehrsmodelle (Final Report Nr. 2018/004). Geneva: Swiss Association of Transportation Engineers and Experts (SVI). https://www.mobilityplatform.ch/de/research-data-shop/product/1714
Vitins, B. J., Erath, A. L., & Axhausen, K. W. (2016). Integration of a capacity constrained workplace choice model: Recent developments and applications with an agent-based Simulation in Singapore. Transportation Research Record, 2564, 1–13.
Vovsha, P., Bradley, M. A., & Bowman, J. L. (2004). Activity-based travel forecasting models in the United States: Progress since 1995 and prospects for the future. Paper presented at the EIRASS Conference in Advances in Activity-Based Analysis, Maastricht, the Netherlands, May 28–31.
Waddell, P. A. (1993). Exogenous workplace choice in residential location models: Is the Assumption valid? Geographical Analysis, 25(1), 65–82.
Wagner, H. M. (1975). Principles of operations research: With applications to managerial decisions. Hoboken, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Zhou, B. B., & Kockelman, K. (2011). Land use change through microsimulation of market dynamics: An agent-based model of land development and locator bidding in Austin, Texas. Transportation Research Record, 2255, 125–136.