Working Papers (when not listed elsewhere)
Hover over the article title link for abstract, click for downloadable paper in pdf.
2011
- Anderson, Paul, David Levinson, and Pavithra Parthasarathi (2011) Accessibility Futures. This study uses accessibility as a performance measure to evaluate a matrix of future land use and network scenarios for planning purposes. Previous research has established the coevolution of transportation and land use, demonstrated the dependence of accessibility on both, and made the case for the use of accessibility measures as a planning tool. This study builds off of these findings by demonstrating the use of accessibility-based performance measures on the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. This choice of performance measure also allows for transit and highway networks to be compared side-by-side. A zone to zone travel time matrix was computed using SUE assignment with travel time feedback to trip distribution. A database of schedules was used on the transit networks to assign transit routes. This travel time data was joined with the land use data from each scenario to obtain the employment, population, and labor accessibility from each TAZ within specified time ranges. Tables of person- weighed accessibility were computed for 20 minutes with zone population as the weight for employment accessibility and zone employment as the weight for population and labor accessibility. The person-weighted accessibility results were then used to evaluate the planning scenarios. The results show that centralized population and employment produce the highest accessibility across all networks. (working paper)
- Carrion, Carlos, Nebiyou Tilahun, and David Levinson (2011) Effects of Mode Shares on Mode Choice. This study considers the influence of the knowledge of existing mode shares on travelers mode choice. This contrasts with traditional mode choice models, where the main objective is to predict the overall mode shares as the aggregate of individual mode choices according to variables encompassing attributes of the modes, and characteristics of the travelers. In this study, a computer-administered adaptive stated preference survey is developed and applied to a sample of subjects selected from the University of Minnesota. The results indicate that the presence of mode shares in the mode choice model does influence the decision of travelers. (working paper)
- Chi, Guangchi, Mohammed Quddus, Arthur Huang and David Levinson (2011) Gasoline Price Effects on Traffic Safety in Urban and Rural Areas:
Evidence from Minnesota, 1998–2007. A large literature base has found that economic factors have important effects on traffic crashes. A small but growing branch of literature also examines the role that gasoline prices play in the occurrence of traffic crashes. However, no studies have investigated the possible difference of these effects between urban and rural areas. In this study, we used the monthly traffic crash data from 1998–2007 at the county level in Minnesota to investigate the possibly different effects gasoline prices may have on traffic crashes in urban versus rural areas. The results indicate significant difference of gasoline price effects on total crashes in urban versus rural areas. Gasoline prices also significantly affect the frequency of injury crashes in both urban and rural areas; however, the difference is not significant. Gasoline prices have no significant effects on the frequency of fatal crashes in urban and rural areas. Traffic volume plays a bigger role on the incidence of injury and fatal crashes. The results concerning the differences between urban and rural areas have important policy implications for traffic safety planners and decision makers (working paper)
- Chi, Guangchi, Jeremy Porter, Arthur Cosby and David Levinson (2011) A Time Geography Approach to Understanding the Impact of Gasoline Price Changes on Traffic Safety. The impact of gasoline price changes on traffic safety has received increasing attention in empirical studies. However, this important relationship has not been explained within a conceptual or theoretical framework. In this study, we examine this relationship within a time geography framework in an attempt to understand the effect of time-varying fluctuations in gasoline prices and their relationship to traffic safety in a case study of Mississippi from April 2004 to December 2008. We further extend this work by examining the degree to which this relationship is differential in impact by age, gender, and race. The results suggest that changes in gasoline prices have immediate effects on reducing total traffic crashes and crashes of younger drivers, women, and whites. However, changes in gasoline prices do not affect total crashes of older drivers, men, or blacks. Within the theoretical framework of time geography, we understand gasoline prices as one type of capability constraint of the space-time path and space- time prism. As gasoline prices increase (that is, as the capability constraint becomes stronger), traffic crash rates will decrease. However, the effects vary by age, gender, and race because the capability constraint of gasoline prices differs across demographic groups. (working paper)
- Parthasarathi, Pavithra, David Levinson, and Hartwig Hochmair(2011) Network Structure and Travel Time Perception. This paper aims to identify differences in how travelers perceive their commute travel time. Further the goal is to relate these differences in perception to the underlying measures of network structure along the commute route. To that effect, travelers are categorized into two groups, based on the ratio of their reported travel time and measured travel time. Statistical t-test comparisons are conducted to identify differences in individual network measures between the two groups followed by regression models estimated to analyze the combined effect of these measures. The t-test analyses presented here identified statistically significant differences between the two traveler groups and the regression models confirmed the same. (working paper)
2010
2009
- Junge, Jason and David Levinson (2009)
The Land Value of Local Roads.
Roads cover a significant fraction of the land area in many municipalities. The public provision of roads means this land is exempt from the local property tax. Transferring roads from public to private ownership would not only remove maintenance costs from city budgets, but increase potential property tax revenue as well. This paper calculates the value of the land occupied by roads in sample cities and determines the potential revenue increase if they were subject to property tax. Further calculation computes the extent to which the property tax rate could be reduced if the land value of roads were added to the tax base.
JEL code: R40, R11, R14
Keywords: tax, land value, locational analysis, transportation finance
(working paper).
- Scharenbroich, Michael, Michael Iacono, and David Levinson (2009)
How Local Is Travel?
This paper analyzes the distribution of travel time across different classes of roads for 47 subjects in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. We use global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information system (GIS) data to analyze subject road use, with the objective of getting a sense for how much time individuals spend on different types of roads during their commute trip (in a sense, how “localized” their travel is). The results reveal an association between the amounts of time spent on various functional classes of roads and home and work locations. Subjects that live and work in the city of Minneapolis are found to spend a higher percentage of their travel time on lower-level (city and county) roads. The results may be used to further inform local road finance decisions in light of the free-rider problem and other problems associated with current financing mechanisms.
JEL code: R41, R48, R53
Keywords: Travel Behavior; Transportation – Finance; Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
(working paper).
- Tilahun, Nebiyou and David Levinson (2009)
The Role of Job Search Methods and Contacts on Commuting and Relocation Decisions.
This paper empirically explores the relationship between (i) job finding and commuting outcomes and (ii) the relationship between job search and the commute and location outcomes of relocation decisions after finding employment. The relationship between commute outcomes when finding a new job and the job search method that one employs are explored first. That is followed by an analysis of how long one stays at their residence after finding work, and where they eventually relocate relative to their new employment site as well as their previous residence. Along with the usual socio-demographic variables, the analysis takes on the job search method as well as the local contacts that one has in their residential area as important variables informing these choices. The findings indicate that jobs found through the use of internet and newspapers were on average farther away from the searchers’ residence as compared to those found through contacts and formal means. On relocation after employment, we find that being a renter and moving to a rental unit were important in how quickly one relocated. In addition those that used the internet to find their jobs also relocated faster after controlling for demographic variables such as age. The distribution of ones social contacts were also found to be important in how far away from the previous location a person relocated.
JEL code: J61, J64, R41, R31, D83, L14, D85
Keywords: Job search, travel behavior, transport geography, commuting, relocation
(working paper).
2008
- Iacono, Michael and David Levinson (2008)
Review of Methods for Estimating the Economic Impact of Transportation Improvements.
Transportation analysts and the public decision-makers they support are confronted with a
broad range of analytical tools for estimating the economic impacts of improvements to trans-
portation networks. Many of the available models operate at different scales and have distinctly
different structures, making them more or less appropriate for analyzing the impacts of differ-
ent types of projects. Here, we review several of the economic methods and models that have
been developed for analyzing the impact of transportation improvements, giving special atten-
tion to types of projects that add highway capacity in urban areas. We review project-based
methods, including benefit-cost analysis and several analytical software tools developed by the
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for economic analysis of transportation investment.
We then move on to aggregate and disaggregate-level econometric methods, including regional
economic models, hedonic price functions, production functions and cliometric analyses. We
also devote some attention to the role of induced demand in economic evaluation, since it is of-
ten one of the most uncertain and confounding factors faced by those charged with conducting
economic evaluation of transportation projects.
Keywords: Economic Impact, Benefit-Cost Analysis, Literature Review
(working paper).
- Patterson, Tyler and David Levinson (2008)
Lexus Lanes or Corolla Lanes? Spatial Use and Equity Patterns on the I-394 MnPASS Lanes.
A 2004-2006 longitudinal panel survey of I-394 residents found support levels at over 60
percent for the congestion priced High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane, known to the Twin
Cities as MnPASS. This number varies only slightly when sorted by income levels,
gender, and education levels, suggesting that the arrangement is perceived as equitable.
However, people with higher incomes use the system more often and thereby capitalize
on the direct benefit more often, a finding consistent with other studies. Previous
research has not revealed whether higher incomes actually cause people to use the
MnPASS option more often or whether HOT lanes have simply been built along high
income corridors, such as I-394. This paper aims to separate the effects of income and
location on use to provide a more robust understanding of equity concerns. Using data
provided by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Heteroskedasticity-Consistent
Method 3 (HC3) regressions, this paper suggests that location and income both explain
HOT lane use.
Keywords: Congestion Pricing, HOT Lanes, High Occupancy Toll lanes, Value Pricing, Equity, Twin Cities (Minnesota), economic evaluation
(working paper).
- Tilahun, Nebiyou and David Levinson (2008)
Home Relocation and the Journey to Work.
Relocation decisions are complex. Each household has a bundle of attributes that make
a location attractive to it, including the ability to access different activity locations easily,
neighborhood quality, house amenities etc. Relocating households have an opportunity to find
housing closer to their work. Using data collected in the Twin Cities area, we investigate how
distance to home and travel time to home change among individuals who have changed their
residence since they started their current job. Comparing the home-to-work distance after the
move to the previous-home-to-work distance, we find that the average home to work distance is
reduced as a result of the move. We also find that the reduction depend on the previous home
to work distance as well as the previous homes’ proximity to downtown Minneapolis. The
findings show that households that are either very close to their work, or very close to down-
town, or both did not significantly increase or decrease their commute after relocation. This
suggests that access to work as well as access to the opportunities that proximity to downtown
offers (to jobs, urban spaces, etc.) are important in the decision making process.
Keywords: Commuting, Location, Journey-to-Work, Tenure
(working paper).
2006
2005
- Levinson, David, Michael Corbett, and Maryam Hashami (2005)
Operating Costs for Trucks.
This study estimates the operating costs for commercial vehicle operators in Minnesota. A
survey of firms that undertake commercial truck road movements was performed. The average
operating cost per kilometer for commercial vehicle operators was calculated from the survey
responses. Results show that the translog and Cobb-Douglas models have approximately equal
explanatory power in estimating the total cost from the data. The models also revealed the
presence of nearly constant returns to scale, a finding consistent with earlier studies; an increase
in output (total truckloads) of 1% increases total costs by 1.04%..
- Levinson, David and Bhanu Yerra
(2005)
How Land Use Shapes the Evolution of Road Networks.
The present research develops an agent-based model to treat the organization,
growth, and contraction of network elements. The components model travel demand,
revenue, cost, and investment. Revenue earned by links in excess of maintenance costs is
invested on the link to until all revenue is consumed. After upgrading (or downgrading)
each link in the network, the time period is incremented and the whole process is repeated
until an equilibrium is reached or it is clear that it cannot be achieved. The model is tested
with three alternative land use patterns: uniform, random, and bell-shaped, to test the
effects of land use on resulting network patterns. It is found that similar, but not identical,
equilibrium hierarchical networks result in all cases, with the bell-shaped network, with a
CBD, having higher level roads concentrated in a belt around the CBD, while the other
networks are less concentrated..
2004
- Nee, Brendan and David Levinson
(2004)
Value of Information for Transit Riders.
Transit information systems are crucial for informing riders of their location,
destination, and arrival time. After reviewing and classifying the various types of transit
information systems, an adaptive stated preference survey was developed and
administered to determine the value of information for transit users. The survey
consisted of two scenarios which included a picture and a written description. In a series
of nine questions, participants were given the choice of a higher fare that included more
transit information or a lower fare with less or no information. The average increase in
fare for improved transit information was $0.83. An OLS model was developed based on
the demographic information from respondents. Females, people between the ages of 20
and 30, and those with higher income were willing to pay the most for improved transit
information. Respondents who were regular transit users and who lived far from where
they worked were willing to pay the least. (working paper).
- Zhang, Lei and David Levinson (2004)
Relationships between ramp metering and sprawl.
This paper explores impacts of ramp metering
on urban land use. A regression-based transportation model is developed
to capture changes in accessibility caused by ramp metering on a highway
network. A Land Use Change Indicator (LUCI) model is modified to estimate
how the spatial distribution of employment and housing would change in
response to the redistributed accessibility in five hypothetical urban
areas with various initial land use patterns. Accessibility will be improved
in almost all areas in a city with ramp metering, but meters affect land
use patterns in various ways depending on initial land use conditions.
Ramp metering can exacerbate decentralization, but not necessarily sprawl.
Keywords: Ramp metering, Land use, Urban sprawl, Decentralization.
1996
