Investigating the Stability and Evolution of Transportation-related Attitudes: Evidence from Two Longitudinal Survey Samples

Despite extensive evidence linking attitudes to behavior in the academic literature, challenges in measuring and forecasting attitudes remain key barriers to incorporating travelers' attitudes into practice-oriented regional travel demand models. Complementing prior studies on measurement challenges, this project addresses forecasting challenges, by examining temporal changes in transportation-related attitudes. Two panel samples are employed: overlapping respondents from two surveys administered in Georgia in 2017 and 2022 (N=142) and the 2024 and 2025 waves of the Transportation Heartbeat of America Survey (N=701). After identifying attitudinal factors using exploratory factor analysis, this project will compare attitudinal changes in subsamples with varying socio-economic and demographic characteristics, focusing on whether raw attitudinal variables or attitudinal factor scores are more stable, which attitude types (e.g., travel, residential preferences, technology) exhibit greater stability, and for whom. Additionally, disaggregate-level statistical models of attitudinal changes are developed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the observed changes. Overall, this project will provide foundational insights that can help analyze travel demand under scenarios involving changes in key input variables — including attitudes — with plausible and empirically-grounded assumptions about how attitudes may evolve and how they relate to other factors, which ultimately will advance the incorporation of attitudes into demand modeling and planning practice.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $250,001.00
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552344815

  69A3552348320

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  University of Texas at Austin

  Austin, TX  United States  78712
• Performing Organizations:

  Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta

  790 Atlantic Drive
  Atlanta, GA  United States  30332-0355
• Principal Investigators:

  Mokhtarian, Patricia

• Start Date: 20260601
• Expected Completion Date: 20270531
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Demographics; Forecasting; Longitudinal studies; Surveys; Travel demand
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 02001773
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Understanding Future of Travel Behavior and Demand
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552344815, 69A3552348320
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Sep 4 2026 3:38PM