Center for Activity Systems Analysis

The activity-based approach to travel behavior analysis emerged in the 1970s in reaction to changes in the transportation policy environment. The approach is a richer, more holistic framework in which travel is analyzed as daily or multi-day patterns of behavior related to and derived from differences in lifestyles and activity participation among the population (Jones et al, 1990). It explicitly recognizes and addresses the inability of more conventional trip-based models to reflect underlying behavior. This paper begins with a summary and critique of the conventional trip-based approach. Then, it provides an overview of activity-based approaches and reviews representative examples that can be used to enhance understanding of travel behavior and/or improve forecasting and policy analysis. It concludes with an assessment of the future of both trip-based and activity-based approaches.