Cross sectional and longitudinal relationships among information and telecommunication technologies, daily time allocation to activity and travel, and modal split using structural equation modeling

This paper investigates the impacts of information and communication technologies on daily time allocation to various activities and travel, and on modal split for a substantially large sample of 1480 persons interviewed repeatedly. Employing structural equations we explore the relationships among different activity and travel time use indicators and daily frequencies of travel mode use. Using the Puget Sound Transportation Panel (PSTP) database collected in 1997 and 2000, time use for a specific activity (subsistence, maintenance, and leisure) and traveling, as well as travel frequencies of each mode (driving alone, shared ride, transit, bike, walk, and others) are modeled as regression functions of cross-sectional and longitudinal information. The information analyzed includes personal and household socio-demographics in the year 2000 and changes in socio-demographics, and telecommunication technology ownership and availability between the years 1997 and 2000. Overall, the effect of mode frequencies on duration of activities appears to be much stronger than the effect of activity duration on the trips made. Household and person factors are also important determinants of travel behavior even when we control for activity participation. Throughout the study the effect of social and economic changes on activity and travel behavior was found to be asymmetric. Similarly the effect of changes in ICT technology use was asymmetric and very different depending on the location of the technology (home or work) and the mobility of the technology itself.