A New Behavioral Principle for Travelers in an Urban Networks

A new hypothesis on traveler behavior in a network is described which is based on empirical findings in the theory of travel budgets. It is translated into an assignment principle for characterizing the distribution of travelers, as well as the demand and mode split. A numerical technique is proposed, and it is applied to several examples to illustrate qualitative features. The new hypothesis is significant because it considers all travel decisions-whether or not to travel, where to go, and what mode to use-in a single, unified way. The feedback from travel time and money costs on links and modes to traveler behavior is explicitly considered.