Modeling travel mode choice behavior for planned special events using CPT-based HI-MADM approach

ABSTRACT

Planned special events (PSEs) can significantly increase traffic demand, posing greater challenges than daily operations. In response, host cities often invest heavily in transportation upgrades. This study proposes a model integrating cumulative prospect theory (CPT) and multiple-attribute decision-making to understand mode choice behavior of PSE attendees. This integration enables direct extraction of traveler preference information, offering a more suitable description of the decision-making process. The decision matrix considers mode and attribute heterogeneity. The reference point for CPT is derived from previous PSE trips or commutes. Furthermore, this paper assesses asymmetric nonlinear sensitivity and distorted perceptions of different attributes. Analysis of mode-choice behavior for PSE participation, using survey data from Tianjin, China, validates the approach. It better characterizes PSE choice behaviors and demonstrates varying sensitivity to gains and losses, dependent on different attributes and distances. Thus, event planners should prioritize improving travel time and convenience to increase public transport mode share.

KEYWORDS:

• Planned special events
• mode choice
• cumulative prospect theory
• multiple-attribute decision-making
• risk attitude
• hybrid information

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the anonymous referees and the editor for their valuable suggestions, which have significantly contributed to improving the quality of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [52172304]; Science and Technology Project of Hebei Province [19970808D].