Browsing by Author "Rodriguez-Valencia, Alvaro"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Do attitudes and perceptions help to explain cycling infrastructure quality of service?
    (2020) Vallejo-Borda, Jose Agustin; Rosas-Satizabal, Daniel; Rodriguez-Valencia, Alvaro
    Many approaches have been developed to assess the performance or Quality of Service (QoS) rendered by cycling infrastructure. The most common methodologies (Level of Service/Level of Traffic Stress) do not consider user inputs. In other disciplines, user perceptions constitute a powerful tool that can help improve and tailor designs. This study was intended to explore the effect of cyclists' attitudes and perceptions on the perceived QoS of different cycling infrastructures using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The SEM model was developed using cyclist surveys applied at 16 locations comprising all typologies of cycling infrastructure in Bogota, Colombia. We found that user attitudes and perceptions of tangible (e.g., pavement) and intangible attributes (e.g., enjoyment) can explain cyclists' QoS. The results lead to a better understanding of typical Global South cyclist perceptions when riding, and provide an accurate tool with which to improve cycling infrastructure QoS from a cyclist perspective.
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    Level of Pedestrian Stress in Urban Streetscapes
    (2022) Rodriguez-Valencia, Alvaro; Alberto Ortiz-Ramirez, Hernan; Simancas, Willis; Agustin Vallejo-Borda, Jose
    Several service and performance indicators (SPIs) have recently been developed to evaluate pedestrian infrastructures, such as different walkability indexes and pedestrian level of service (P-LOS). Given that stress has become a popular SPI for bicyclists (level of traffic stress [LTS]), this study addressed stress for pedestrians as an SPI by relating measurable attributes of different urban street segment environments with pedestrian perceived stress. A stress-based pedestrian SPI was proposed to classify street segments into four levels of pedestrian stress. A total of 1,043 pedestrians across 30 segments in Bogota were surveyed about their perceived stress. Multimodal traffic counts, location audits, and layout dimensions were collected in each segment to estimate an ordered probit model that explained four stress categories. Physical infrastructure attributes and traffic operational conditions were found to affect perceived stress at given locations. The similarities between the proposed stress index with the LTS and P-LOS are discussed, and the proposed SPI is applied to pedestrian infrastructure planning and design in light of sustainable transportation goals.
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    Modeling the COVID-19 Travel Choices in Colombia and India: A Hybrid Multiple Discrete-Continuous Nested Extreme Value Approach
    (2023) Vallejo-Borda, Jose Agustin; Bhaduri, Eeshan; Ortiz-Ramirez, Hernan Alberto; Arellana, Julian; Choudhury, Charisma F.; Rodriguez-Valencia, Alvaro; Wadud, Zia; Goswami, Arkopal K.
    The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many daily activities, primarily as a result of the perceived contagion risk and government restrictions to mitigate the spread of the virus. To this end, drastic changes in the trip choices for commuting to work have been reported and studied, mostly through descriptive analysis. On the other hand, modeling-based research that can simultaneously understand both changes in mode choice and its frequency at an individual level has not been much used in existing studies. As such, this study aims to understand the changes in mode-choice preference and the frequency of trips, comparing pre-COVID with during-COVID scenarios, in two different countries of the Global South: Colombia and India. A hybrid multiple discrete-continuous nested extreme value model was implemented using the data obtained from online surveys in Colombia and India during the early COVID-19 period of March and April 2020. This study found that, in both countries, utility related to active modes (more used) and public transportation (less used) changed during the pandemic. In addition, this study highlights potential risks in likely unsustainable futures where there may be increased use of private vehicles such as cars and motorcycles, in both countries. It was also identified that perceptions toward government responses had a significant impact on the choices in Colombia, though this was not the case in India. These results may help decision makers focus on public policies to encourage sustainable transportation by avoiding the detrimental long-term behavioral changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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    Staying on or getting off the sidewalk? Testing the Mehrabian-Russell Model on pedestrian behavior
    (2021) Alberto Ortiz-Ramirez, Hernan; Agustin Vallejo-Borda, Jose; Rodriguez-Valencia, Alvaro
    Social and environmental psychology provide a variety of models based on which to understand how built environments can elicit people?s behavioral responses. The MehrabianRussell model (MRM), initially presented in 1974, provides a framework that explains avoid?approach behavior towards a place based on a primary emotional response (PER) and affective states elicited by the perceived stimuli from the environment. However, despite the potential applications of the MRM in travel behavior studies, traditional models (e.g., discrete choice models and integrated choice latent variable) do not incorporate this specific psychological process that converts environmental stimuli into behavioral responses. Hence, this paper aims to test the applicability of MRM to urban sidewalks. To fulfill this objective, we developed a two-level structural equation model using latent variables (LV) identified from a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) based on 1056 in person surveys on 30 different sidewalks in Bogot?, Colombia. We then evaluated the effect of the PER on declared avoidance as a proxy of behavioral intention. The CFA uncovered three LV equivalent to the three affective dimensions of the MRM?arousal, pleasure, and dominance?followed by a fourth LV, representing the PER, which explains the three previous LVs. This confirms the applicability of these kinds of psychological and environmental models in pedestrian behavior evaluation. We found that PER can explain the declared intention of avoidance towards the sidewalk in an urban setting. Proving that this kind of model can explain the way in which the built environment can elicit pedestrians? emotional responses and subsequent behaviors, provides information that can be used as input in travel behavior studies focusing on the promotion of active traveling and mode change. ? 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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    Towards an enriched framework of service evaluation for pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure: acknowledging the power of users' perceptions
    (2022) Rodriguez-Valencia, Alvaro; Vallejo-Borda, Jose Agustin; Barrero, German A.; Ortiz-Ramirez, Hernan Alberto
    More and more cities worldwide are striving for sustainability and livability. Measuring the service or performance of local-scale spaces for pedestrians and bicyclists to better understand how to provide "walkable" and "bikeable" environments is key in this endeavor to enhance active transportation. These pedestrian and bicycle service or performance indicators, such as Level of Traffic Stress or Level of Service, relate measurable characteristics with a perceived proxy of the performance or service, such as comfort, satisfaction, or quality of service (QoS). The purpose of this study is to propose and validate a framework that integrates user-oriented inputs to the existing traditional supply-oriented variables to explain the QoS in segment roadways in urban environments for active modes. The conceptual framework underlying this study considers the contribution of individual perceptions, in addition to the traditionally considered operational and geometry variables, to explain the perceived QoS of pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure. The framework is tested via two separate and independent surveys for pedestrians and bicyclists. Evidence determined the relative importance of these supply-oriented and user-oriented factors to explain the QoS. The superior explanatory power of the perception variables and in terms of the variables that explain the individuals' perceived QoS justify the framework for both pedestrians and bicyclists.
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    Understanding the differences between car and motorcycle ownership. The case of Bogota, Colombia
    (2024) Rodriguez-Valencia, Alvaro; Ortuzar, J. de D.; Mesa-Garcia, Santiago
    Motorcycle and car ownership are rapidly growing in the Global South. However, little research has been conducted to understand the factors influencing motorcycle ownership and whether they differ from those affecting car ownership. In this paper, we explore and explain the similarities and differences between the factors that influence the decision to own both types of private vehicles in Bogota, Colombia. Using information from the 2019 Household Travel Survey and open land-use information of Bogota, we formulate and estimate two independent discrete choice models for car ownership and motorcycle ownership. Our results indicate that the factors influencing the decision to own a car are indeed not the same as those influencing the decision to own a motorcycle. First, we found that sociodemographic variables do not keep the same sign, magnitude, or meaning in both types of ownership models. However, the main difference between the two specifications is associated with spatial-related (geographic) variables. Mixed land uses, density, and proximity to mass transit seems to affect car ownership, while living in the periphery of the city increases the likelihood of owning a motorcycle. Our findings provide evidence about a topic that is essential in transportation demand models for mobility plans, especially in the Global South. They also highlight the need for further research focusing on motorcycle ownership.
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    Understanding transit user satisfaction with an integrated bus system
    (2022) Rodriguez-Valencia, Alvaro; Ortiz-Ramirez, Hernan Alberto; Simancas, Willis; Vallejo-Borda, Jose Agustin
    Understanding the factors and drivers of user satisfaction with public transportation (PT) systems has been a subject of research for decades, as it provides insight into influencing ridership increases. This research addresses user satisfaction using SEM-MIMIC models to analyze three PT bus subsystems in the same city (Bogota Colombia): A Bus Rapid Transit, a formalized bus subsystem, and a semi-formalized one that operates simultaneously. After developing three independent models, we found the same three latent variables (LVs), namely subsystems "condition", "service", and "safety/security", in each one. However, the strength and significance of the direct and indirect effects among the three LVs vary from one subsystem to another. In general, satisfaction is initially based on a person's perception of the subsystem's condition and ends with his/her perception of the service, with safety and service being the mediating variables to explain satisfaction. Unlike previous studies, we were able to identify relationships among these three independent variables for each subsystem, allowing us to assess the direct and indirect effects on overall subsystem satisfaction. This research provides decision-makers with a broader understanding of how infrastructure, vehicles, operational attributes, and regulation processes influence user satisfaction through perceptions and how they can help improve the PT service for its users.