Induced Travel Calculator Improvements

Highway capacity expansion projects, involving the building of new roadways or addition of lanes to existing facilities, are often justified at least in part on their ability to reduce traffic congestion. But studies examining that approach consistently show that adding roadway capacity in congested areas increases network-wide vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by a nearly equivalent proportion within a few years, reducing or negating the initial congestion relief. That increase in VMT is called “induced travel.” To assist public agencies in estimating the amount of induced travel that may result from a capacity expansion project, UC Davis researchers in a previous project developed the Induced Travel Calculator. This project will explore possible improvements to the calculator and develop recommendations for any further improvements that would require additional resources. The research team will explore three types of improvements to the calculator: (1) Improvements to the explanation and documentation of the calculator on the website and in related resources; (2) Improvements to the calculator itself, such as refinements to the calculations and/or the data used by the calculator; and (3) Validation of the calculator in different contexts.

• Record URL:
  https://ncst.ucdavis.edu/project/induced-travel-calculator-improvements

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $60000
• Contract Numbers:

  Caltrans 65A0686 Task Order 054

• Sponsor Organizations:

  California Department of Transportation

  1227 O Street
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95843

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 
• Managing Organizations:

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  Institute of Transportation Studies
  Davis, CA  United States  95616
• Project Managers:

  Iacobucci, Lauren

• Performing Organizations:

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  Institute of Transportation Studies
  Davis, CA  United States  95616
• Principal Investigators:

  Volker, Jamey

  Handy, Susan

• Start Date: 20210101
• Expected Completion Date: 20220331
• Actual Completion Date: 20220914
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Calculators; Highway capacity; Validation; Vehicle miles of travel
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Policy;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01761136
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Center for Sustainable Transportation
• Contract Numbers: Caltrans 65A0686 Task Order 054
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Dec 22 2020 7:06PM