The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Questionnaire surveys to evaluate user response to variable message signs in an urban network

Questionnaire surveys to evaluate user response to variable message signs in an urban network
Questionnaire surveys to evaluate user response to variable message signs in an urban network
The use of variable message signs (VMS) to provide traffic information is widespread, but success depends upon behavioural response to the sign messages. The research described here focuses on user acceptance of VMS located in an urban road network (Southampton, UK), and investigates the public's perceived effectiveness and usefulness of these signs through the use of revealed preference questionnaire surveys and travel diaries. Three hundred and sixty-five commuters regularly driving into Southampton from the outskirts of the city completed a travel diary for a 5-day period as well as a general questionnaire, and 660 infrequent travellers to Southampton completed the general questionnaire. The study showed that it is difficult to capture a meaningful sample size of respondents passing an 'active' VMS in a real-life incident scenario. Less than 1% of the commuter sample stated that they had diverted to an alternative route during the travel diary week as a result of VMS information, although this did correspond to 53% of those 45 drivers originally intending to travel past the incident location. The results showed that the VMS messages were well-understood and legible, and also indicated that a default VMS message reporting no problems in the network can indirectly affect a driver's route choice.
1751-956X
177-185
Richards, A.C.
50c2ac40-37d4-4505-bdc4-65d70bc6610e
McDonald, M.
cd5b31ba-276b-41a5-879c-82bf6014db9f
Richards, A.C.
50c2ac40-37d4-4505-bdc4-65d70bc6610e
McDonald, M.
cd5b31ba-276b-41a5-879c-82bf6014db9f

Richards, A.C. and McDonald, M. (2007) Questionnaire surveys to evaluate user response to variable message signs in an urban network. IET Intelligent Transport Systems, 1 (3), 177-185. (doi:10.1049/iet-its:20060046).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The use of variable message signs (VMS) to provide traffic information is widespread, but success depends upon behavioural response to the sign messages. The research described here focuses on user acceptance of VMS located in an urban road network (Southampton, UK), and investigates the public's perceived effectiveness and usefulness of these signs through the use of revealed preference questionnaire surveys and travel diaries. Three hundred and sixty-five commuters regularly driving into Southampton from the outskirts of the city completed a travel diary for a 5-day period as well as a general questionnaire, and 660 infrequent travellers to Southampton completed the general questionnaire. The study showed that it is difficult to capture a meaningful sample size of respondents passing an 'active' VMS in a real-life incident scenario. Less than 1% of the commuter sample stated that they had diverted to an alternative route during the travel diary week as a result of VMS information, although this did correspond to 53% of those 45 drivers originally intending to travel past the incident location. The results showed that the VMS messages were well-understood and legible, and also indicated that a default VMS message reporting no problems in the network can indirectly affect a driver's route choice.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: September 2007

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 53265
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/53265
ISSN: 1751-956X
PURE UUID: be4a01ce-d93c-4320-91df-5cc2ab4f7427

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 23 Jul 2008
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 10:40

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: A.C. Richards
Author: M. McDonald

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×