Overreporting vs. Overreacting: Commuters' Perceptions of Travel Times

Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper 13-123/VIII

32 Pages Posted: 27 Aug 2013

See all articles by Stefanie Peer

Stefanie Peer

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, School of Business and Economics

Jasper Knockaert

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Paul Koster

VU University Amsterdam - Department of Spatial Economics

Erik T. Verhoef

VU University Amsterdam - Department of Spatial Economics; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, School of Business and Economics; Tinbergen Institute

Date Written: August 15, 2013

Abstract

Participants of a large-scale, real-life peak avoidance experiment have been asked to provide estimates of their average in-vehicle travel times for their morning commute. Comparing these reported travel times to the corresponding actual travel times, we find that travel times are overstated by a factor of 1.5 on average. We test to which extent driver- and link-specific characteristics explain the overstating. Subsequently, we investigate whether the driver-specific reporting errors are consistent with the drivers' scheduling behavior in reality as well as in hypothetical choice experiments. For neither case, we find robust evidence that drivers behave as if they misperceived travel times to a similar extent as they misreported them. These results imply that reported travel times are neither an appropriate measure for representing actual nor perceived travel times, and are thus a strong caveat against the uncritical use of reported travel time data in research and policy.

Keywords: Value of Time, scheduling behavior, perception, revealed-preference, discrete choice modelling, travel time data

JEL Classification: C25, D83, D84, R41

Suggested Citation

Peer, Stefanie and Knockaert, Jasper and Koster, Paul and Verhoef, Erik T., Overreporting vs. Overreacting: Commuters' Perceptions of Travel Times (August 15, 2013). Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper 13-123/VIII, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2316076 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2316076

Stefanie Peer (Contact Author)

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, School of Business and Economics ( email )

De Boelelaan 1105
Amsterdam, 1081HV
Netherlands

Jasper Knockaert

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Paul Koster

VU University Amsterdam - Department of Spatial Economics ( email )

De Boelelaan 1105
1081HV Amsterdam
Netherlands

Erik T. Verhoef

VU University Amsterdam - Department of Spatial Economics ( email )

De Boelelaan 1105
1081HV Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 020 4446094 (Phone)
+31 020 4446004 (Fax)

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, School of Business and Economics ( email )

De Boelelaan 1105
Amsterdam, 1081HV
Netherlands

Tinbergen Institute ( email )

Gustav Mahlerplein 117
Amsterdam, 1082 MS
Netherlands

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