TravInfo Field Operational Test Evaluation: Information Service Providers Customer Survey

This paper presents the findings of the customer study of Information Service Providers. TheInformation Service Provider customer study is part of the traveler response evaluation for theTravInfo Field Operational Test. Presently, three private partners of the TravInfo project deploytraffic Web sites using exclusively the TravInfo database. A survey of Web site users wasconducted over seven months from August 1998 – March 1999. A survey instrument wasincorporated into the Web site. The study addressed the usage of Web site information and thetravel behavior of Web site users. The key finding of the survey is that Web site service maysignificantly influence travel behavior. The vast majority of those who retrieved incident reportsmodified their trips. The study showed that drivers who encounter traffic congestion frequentlyare likely to access information on a regular basis. Most traffic Web site users are repeatcustomers because they are satisfied with the information they have obtained through theInternet. People who retrieve Web site information have more travel options than those whoobtain information from other sources. Web site information is more understandable than theinformation disseminated through other media. People perceived that the quality of Web siteinformation is better than other sources in terms of its usefulness and reliability. Web site usersare more receptive to traffic reports than are those who use other information sources. Keywords:traffic Web site, travel behavior.