The experience of travel time. worthwhile or wasted? Learnings from o large-scale smartphone-based data collection campaign and expected policy impacts (H2020 MoTiV Project)

Kurzfassung

In conventional transport appraisal methods, travel time is considered a disutility and therefore constitutes one of the largest costs associated with transport systems. However, this view of the Value of Travel Time (VTT) does not acknowledge the subjective dimension of the travel experience. To address this gap, the Horizon 2020 MoTiV project (2017-2020) developed an app that automatically detects trips and transport modes, and prompts the traveller to answer a short survey capturing their experience of travel time as worthwhile, neutral or wasted. Through the Woorti app, the MoTiV project offers insights into 1) how travellers value their travel time in terms of work-related or personal productivity, fitness, or enjoyment; 2) the causes for such experience in terms of comfort and other experience factors; and 3) the effects of a worthwhile experience in terms of the activities undertaken by travellers while on the move. In this conference paper and presentation, we highlight the design challenges related to the collection of data, we describe the underlying conceptual framework that was adopted, and we present initial results from the data collected across 8 European countries in the second half of 2019 and their potential policy impacts. One main take-away is that from travellers’ perspective, the travel experience matters. The empirical evidence collected by the MoTiV project may help improve transport appraisal methods, particularly for comparing investment options between different transport modes. The project contributes to a shift in transport planning where travellers and their needs, preferences and expectations take centre stage.