Travel Behavior Reactions to Transit Service Disruptions

Abstract

Major transit infrastructure disruptions have become more frequent because of increasing maintenance needs for aging infrastructure, system failures, and disasters. Understanding travel behavior reactions to service disruptions on the basis of empirical observations is a fundamental step toward planning and operating an efficient and reliable transportation system. Few studies in the literature have investigated the behavioral and system impact of transit service disruptions. To bridge this gap in the literature, this research investigated travel behavioral reactions to transit service disruptions during the Metro SafeTrack projects in Washington, D.C., with the use of a unique panel survey. This study offers new insights on multimodal, multidimensional travel behavioral responses to major transit network disruptions, a critically theoretical prerequisite for developing and implementing effective strategies (e.g., how to deploy the reserve bus fleet optimally) that minimize system impact and improve transit system reliability and resilience.