A tour-based mode choice model for commuters in Indonesia

With the advent of activity-based modelling, transport planners' focus has shifted from isolated trips to tours. Tours are series of interconnected trips that start and finish at home. There are different types of tours; we focus on two: hwh (start at home; go to work; and then go back home) and hw+wh (where + represents a non-work activity). Tour types introduce a new dimension to the traditional problem of travel mode choice, as the mode choice might be influenced by the type of tour. This study attempts to measure and compare the relationship between tour type and mode choice using three different modelling approaches: Multinomial Logit (MNL); Nested Logit (NL) and Cross-Nested Logit (CNL). We compare each approach using secondary data from a larger survey: 24-h daily activity patterns of 420 commuters between Bekasi and Jakarta; one of the busiest commuting routes in Indonesia. Among other results, we found that gender and income significantly influence commuter's choice of mode and that reducing travel time and cost can increase the ridership of public transport. Furthermore, the NL and CNL models showed significant improvement over the simpler MNL when grouping the alternatives based on tour types. This points to a significant influence of the tour type on the mode choice. Policy recommendations to increase traveler's wellbeing are also formulated.