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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (5 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
Berkeley Planning Journal, Volume 9, Issue 1 (1994)

Very high speed rail may be a competitive mode of trans­ portation for California's future. This article presents an evaluation of the economic and comprehensive benefits and costs associated with such an endeavor. The results indicate competitive comprehensive rates of return and a potential for project self-financing, suggesting that such a project merits serious consideration by the State.

    Cover page: High-Speed Rail in California: A Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • Article
    Earlier Faculty Research (1998)

    Modeling personal travel behavior is complex, particularly when one tries to adhere closely to actual causal mechanisms while predicting human response to changes in the transport environment. There has long been a need for explicitly modeling the underlying determinant of travel - the demand for participation in out-of-home activities; and progress is being made in this area, primarily through discrete-choice models coupled with continuous-duration choices. However, these models tend to be restricted in size and conditional on a wide variety of other choices that could be modeled more endogenously.

    This dissertation derives a system of demands for activity participation and other travel-related goods that is rigorously linked to theories of utility maximization. Two difficulties inherent in the modeling of travel - the discrete nature of many travel-related demands and the formal recognition of a time budget, not just a financial one - are dealt with explicitly. The dissertation then empirically evaluates several such demand systems, based on flexible specifications of indirect utility. The results provide estimates of activity generation and distribution and of economic parameters such as demand elasticities. Several hypotheses regarding travel behavior are tested, and estimates are made of welfare effects generated by changes in the travel environment.

    The models presented here can be extended to encompass more disaggregate consumption bundles and stronger linkages between consumption of out-of-home activities and other goods. The flexibility and strong behavioral basis of the approach make it a promising new direction for travel demand modeling.

      Cover page: A Utility-Theory-Consistent System-of-Demand-Equations Approach to Household Travel Choice
      • Article
      Dissertations (1998)
      Modeling personal travel behavior is complex, particularly when one tries to adhere closely to actual casual mechanisms while predicting human response to changes in the transport environement. There has long been a need for explicitly modeling the underlying determinant of travel- the demand for participation in out-of-home activities; and progress is being made in this area, primarily through discrete-choice models coupled with continous-duration choices. However, these models tend to be restircted in size and conditional on a wide variety of other choices that could be modeled more endogenously. 
        Cover page: A Utility-Theory-Consistem System-of-Demand-Equations Approach to Household Travel Choice
        • Multimedia
        SafeTREC Webinars (2013)
        Traffic fatalities are responsible for 1.3 million deaths annually, worldwide, & 16 percent of all Americans dying between the ages of 1 & 44 (WHO 2010, Xu et al. 2010). Crash rates & consequences can be examined from multiple perspectives, reflecting characteristics of the drivers & passengers, their vehicles, home locations, & crash settings. This presentation focuses on crash risks & injury severities as a function of driver & vehicle characteristics & other factors. For example, heteroscedastic ordered probit models distinguish the effects of vehicle weight, footprint & height on the severity of injuries sustained by vehicle occupants in the U.S. General Estimates Systems data sets (while controlling for many additional attributes). A survey of over 1,000 Americans was employed to analyze the impact of driving habits & distances, citation histories, vehicle ownership, & demographics on crash histories & risk. Lastly, data on the 240 respondents who currently ride or have ridden a motorcycle allow one to analyze the relationship between rider training & riding frequency on regular helmet use, & set the stage for a holistic cost-benefit analysis of motorcycling, to examine tradeoffs in safety, emissions, fuel use, & vehicle costs. 
        • 1 supplemental PDF
        • 1 supplemental audio file
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2024)
        An increasing number of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) have bidirectional charging technology that provides new benefits to motorists, homeowners, and power grid operators. A web-based survey investigates the willingness of over 300 Americans to pay for added bidirectional charging features, namely, vehicle-to-load (V2L), vehicle-to-home (V2H), and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies, along with their expected use frequency. Summary statistics suggest that Americans are willing to pay (WTP) an average of $280 and $776 on top of the price of a new car for V2L and V2H, respectively. About 51.3% would let their power company discharge their vehicle via V2G during grid emergencies if compensated and guaranteed a minimum battery level. Interval regression and ordered probit equations explain how demographics, travel patterns, and attitudinal variables affect the response variables, including WTP for bidirectional charging features and expected reliance on technology. The statistically and practically significant relationships suggest that adults over 34 have lower WTP values for V2L and V2H, and those in households with more vehicles plan on more bi-directional charging, as expected. The findings have implications for policymakers, manufacturers, and stakeholders involved in the BEV ecosystem, informing their decision-making processes related to integrating and commercializing bidirectional charging technologies. These models may even help power grid planners understand who is likely to adopt V2G technology, enabling them to aggregate and shift BEV loads to help manage the grid in parallel and isolation.
          Creative Commons 'BY-NC' version 4.0 license
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