Investigating traveller’s overall information needs: What, when and how much is required by urban residents

Advanced Traveller Information Systems (ATIS) play a critical role in travel planning; however, relatively little is known about people’s overall information needs in urban areas. This study aims to investigate urban traveller’s information demand as to the quantities, categories and levels as well as gain a deeper understanding of the drivers of demand for information. A two-stage approach, combining exploratory factor analysis with ordered probit is implemented to analyse multi-dimensional and inter-related information alternatives. An empirical analysis was conducted using a survey of 253 face-to-face interviews, collected in 2015 in Chengdu, China. The results indicate that demand is generally higher for public transport/road usage and real-time information. Traveller’s information needs also vary significantly across types, timing of acquisition and population segments. The findings suggest that merging and providing high quality information relating to travel time saving, knowledge gaining and uncertainty reducing in a single digital app is likely to deliver greater commercial opportunities to information/mobility service providers. The implications for policy and travel demand management are also provided.