On the consistency between commuting satisfaction and traveling utility: the case of the University of Luxembourg
Abstract
According to random utility theory, there is no clear distinction between the utility inferred from observed choices (decision utility), the experienced outcome of decision makers’ (experienced utility) or their retrospective evaluation (remembered utility). While empirical experiments have shown that decision utility and remembered utility do not perfectly coincide, little is known regarding the magnitude of this discrepancy, especially in the transport field. Using a cross-sectional travel survey, the objective of this paper is to quantify the relationship between commuters’ stated choice satisfaction (a proxy for remembered utility) and the Logsum function of the utility of all available modes of transport (decision utility). This is of tremendous importance, as implemented transport policy measures, which aim to increase the overall decision makers’ utility, may have low impact on their satisfaction level and thus be ineffective. Results indicate that the utility Logsum is associated with respondents’ commuting satisfaction. However, context specificities have an important impact on this association.
EJTIR is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. The license means that anyone is free to share (to copy, distribute, and transmit the work), to remix (to adapt the work) under the following conditions:
- The original authors must be given credit
- For any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are
- Any of these conditions can be waived if the copyright holders give permission
- Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author's moral rights