TravInfo Evaluation: Traveler Response Element Willingness to Pay for Traveler Information: Analysis of Wave 2 Broad Area Survey

Problem

TravInfo is a federally funded Field Operational Test (FOT) to deploy real-time traveler information in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Real-time traveler information is presently available free of charge in many US urban areas. Commercial radio/television stations, highway advisory radio, changeable message signs, in-vehicle devices, and the Internet all provide individuals with travel information. Substantial government resources are invested in the collection, processing, and dissemination of this information. The rationale is that information can help travelers make better decisions that ultimately reduce traffic congestion and pollution. However, the personal benefits of certain types of high quality travel information may motivate individuals to pay for that information.

The Broad Area study is part of the TravInfo FOT evaluation. For the Broad Area study, two household surveys were conducted, one in November 1995, eight months prior to the start of the TravInfo FOT, and the other one in November 1998, three months after the FOT was completed. This research examines the willingness of users to pay for the traveler information offered by TravInfo. The data utilized are from the second survey (1000 San Francisco Bay Area Residents), conducted in 1998.

The data were collected through a computer-assisted telephone interview in which respondents were chosen through random digit dialing. The study analyzes respondents' willingness to pay for a hypothetical ATIS (Advanced Traveler Information System) that provides: 1) Automatic notification of unexpected congestion on respondents' usual route, 2) Estimated time of delay from this congestion, 3) Automatic alternate route planning around this congestion, and 4) Estimated travel time on respondents' usual route and any planned alternate routes.

Findings

Of the original 1000 respondents, 342 did not receive transit or traffic reports from any source and so were not asked for their willingness to pay for ATIS. Of the remaining 658 respondents, 73% would be willing to pay for ATIS, 22% would not, and 5.2% weren't sure or didn't know.

Many respondents were not entirely averse to paying for quality travel information. Almost all "information seeking" respondents (97%) acknowledged a willingness to pay at least some fee for ATIS. The majority (77%) preferred to pay on a per-call basis as opposed to a monthly fee. 53% were willing to pay up to one dollar per call; 38% were willing to pay $7 per month.

Respondents indicated that the most desirable information options were constant updates, alternate route information, in-car computer information, and delay and route time information.

It is still not clear whether ATIS user fees could cover the costs of such a system. It is also unclear whether public provision through taxpayer dollars is the best way to produce ATIS, given that the goals of decreasing congestion and improving mobility are in the public interest for economic and air quality reasons. Given that survey respondents indicate some willingness to pay a fee, partial funding of ATIS could be possible for appropriately customized high-quality content. More research is needed, particularly in the form of ATIS demonstration projects that do charge a fee so that real data can be generated rather than that generated by preference surveys.