Surveying commuter behavior as a basis for designing motorist information systems

A motorist information survey was conducted by University investigators as part of a project sponsored by the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. This survey gathered information about motorist activities and behaviors, particularly the potential for changing these behaviors through the design and delivery of motorist information. Of particular interest were the commuter-based methodology designed to allow application of multivariate techniques to data analysis, and the use of cluster analysis to determine discrete groups of commuter types. The design and administration of the survey, the cluster analysis methodology and its preliminary results are described.<>