This professional report examines the degree to which the perception of safety shapes travel behavior in Austin, Texas, using Huston Tillotson University (HT) students as our case study. Focus groups are used to explore and identify what elements of the public transit experience are considered safe and unsafe. The report explores what “frightens” HT participants away from using the bus. A quantitative study is then used to measure environmental variables and their relation to bus stops and perceptions of safety. Austin crime data are used to locate bus stop crimes and develop a real context for bus riders’ perceptions of crime. After describing the conditions of bus stops based on physical, environmental, and criminal attributes, the study develops scenarios for the study areas. This report closes by summarizing the empirical findings and gives design and policy recommendations for transportation planners, agencies, and policy makers. / text

Automobile use is associated with significant problems such as air pollution and obesity. Decisions to use the automobile or its alternatives, including walk, bicycle, and public transit, are believed to be associated with urban form. However, in contrast to the hypothesis that compact urban form significantly reduces automobile travel, previous studies reported only a modest effect on travel behavior. These studies, largely built on microeconomic utility theory, are not sufficient for assessing the effect of compactness, for several reasons: (1) The studies postulate that travel invokes only disutility, but travel may also provide intrinsic utility or benefits insomuch as people travel for its own sake; (2) the studies have traditionally focused on how urban compactness reduces the distance between trip origin and destination and accordingly reduces trip time, but urban compactness also increases congestion and reduces trip speed, and thus increases trip time; and (3) the studies have mostly examined automobile commuting, but people travel for various purposes, using different travel modes, and the impact of urban compactness on the utility of non-automobile non-commuting travel has not been duly examined. On this ground, to better explain the effects that urban compactness has on travel behavior, this dissertation refines the concept of travel utility using two additions to the microeconomic utility theory: activity-based utility theory of derived travel demand and approaches to positive utility of travel. Accordingly, it designs a conceptual model that specifies travel utility as an intermediary between urban compactness and travel behavior and examines the behavior associated with and utility derived from travel mode choices for alternative purposes of travel. Twenty individual models are derived from the conceptual model and tested within the context of Seoul, Korea, using a confirmatory approach of structural equation modeling and data from geographic information systems and a structured sample survey, which is initially designed and validated by semi-structured interviews and subsequent statistical tests. By comparing the individual models, this research concludes that the urban compactness effect on travel behavior, represented by trip frequencies and supplemented by mode shares, is better explained when travel utility is considered and if travel purposes are separately examined. Major empirical findings are that urban compactness affects travel behavior mainly by increasing the benefits of travel in comparison to its modest effect on the cost reduction and people’s behavioral response to urban compactness is to shift modes of commuting travel, decrease travel for shopping, and increase travel for leisure. These purpose-specific findings have implications for transportation planners and public health planners by assisting them in linking plans and policies concerning urban compactness to travel purposes.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:00:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2125.pdf: 7879891 bytes, checksum: e80ceb14a2ac63501f1ee48b24e98926 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-08-26 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The city s transportation system has been a big problem in urban planning, due to constant increasing of vehicles fleet, absence of road network monitoring, air pollution, and conflicts between pedestrian and car. Therefore the development of alternatives that encourage the sustainable travel modes realization, as non-motorized modes and public transportation becomes necessary, reducing, consequently, the number of trips by car. In order to assist urban planning process on the sustainable transportation modes preference and to contribute to better urban spaces for citizens, the objective of this study is to analyze the existent relations between urban form of six traffic zones in Uberlândia city, Minas Gerais State and its urban transportation system, defining how physical features of a certain region influences people traveling behavior. Urban form variables defined as important to this study and analyzed on traffic zones level were: urban density; diversity of land use; quality of favorable places to nonmotorized transportation; availability of public transportation; routes design and connectivity; city topography. To determine the urban form influence on travel behavior different discreet choice models, multinomial logit type, were calibrated. First of all, the models were calibrated using only travelers socio-economic variables and then variables that characterize urban form were included. Results indicated that urban form variables don't have significant influence on the modal choice process in trips in the city, not being, therefore, determinant to define that transport mode must be used. Socio-economic variables, in special, the income and the trip distance were the most determinative factors for the transport mode choice. / O sistema de transporte das cidades tem se apresentado como uma grande fonte de problemas frente ao processo de planejamento urbano, devido ao crescente aumento da frota de veículos, o não acompanhamento da malha viária, a poluição do ar, e os conflitos entre pedestres e automóveis. Diante disso, se faz necessário o desenvolvimento de alternativas que incentivem a realização de viagens por modos sustentáveis, como os modos não motorizados e o transporte coletivo, diminuindo de forma conseqüente o número de viagens realizadas por automóvel. No intuito de auxiliar no processo de planejamento urbano a fim de privilegiar os modos de transporte sustentáveis e contribuir para o provimento de espaços urbanos melhores aos cidadãos, este estudo tem o objetivo de analisar as relações existentes entre a forma urbana de seis zonas de tráfego da cidade de Uberlândia/MG, e o seu sistema de transporte urbano, buscando definir como as características físicas de uma determinada região influenciam no comportamento de viagem das pessoas. As variáveis da forma urbana definidas como importantes para este estudo e analisadas em nível de zonas de tráfego foram: densidade urbana; diversidade de usos do solo; qualidade dos espaços que favoreçam o transporte não motorizado; disponibilidade de transporte coletivo; desenho e conectividade das vias; e topografia da cidade. Para determinar o grau de influência da forma urbana sobre o comportamento de viagem foram calibrados diversos modelos de escolha discreta do tipo logit multinomial. Primeiro foram calibrados modelos utilizando apenas as variáveis sócio-econômicas dos viajantes e depois se passou a incluir as variáveis que caracterizam a forma urbana. Os resultados obtidos indicaram que as variáveis da forma urbana não têm influência significativa no processo de escolha modal nas viagens realizadas dentro na cidade, não sendo determinantes para definição do modo de transporte a ser usado. As variáveis sócio-econômicas, em especial a renda, e o comprimento das viagens se mostraram como os fatores mais determinantes para a escolha do modo de transporte.

Die vorliegende Dissertationsschrift geht der Frage nach, wie die Qualität von Haushaltsbefragungen zum Verkehrsverhalten bestimmt, bewertet und für zukünftige Erhebungen sichergestellt werden kann. Dabei spielt die Teilnahmebereitschaft als ein bedeutsamer, keinesfalls aber alleiniger Qualitätsindikator eine wichtige Rolle. Eine zentrale Forschungsfrage der Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Eignung gruppenspezifischer Ansprache und Befragung zur Erhöhung der Befragungsqualität. Ausgehend von grundsätzlichen Betrachtungen zu Bedeutung, wesentlichen Designelementen und insbesondere Fehlerquellen von Befragungen in der empirischen Sozialforschung, sind verschiedene Ansätze zur Einschätzung der Qualität einer Befragung Gegenstand dieses Teils der Arbeit. Darauf aufbauend werden stichtagsbezogene Haushaltsbefragungen zum Verkehrsverhalten im Alltag als Spezialfall von Befragungen eingeführt und Ansätze zur Qualitätssicherung bei derartigen Haushaltsbefragungen zusammengetragen. Eine Gegenüberstellung von Designelementen und möglichen Fehlern bei Verkehrsverhaltensbefragungen ermöglicht die Identifizierung und Beschreibung von neun Handlungsfeldern. Im Kontext von Erkenntnissen aus der Erhebungspraxis sowie Erfahrungen bei der Durchführung mehrerer Durchgänge des Forschungsprojektes „Mobilität in Städten – SrV“ wird eingeschätzt, inwieweit die jeweiligen Handlungsfelder zur Verminderung von Fehlereinflüssen und zur Qualitätssicherung beitragen können. Auf dieser Grundlage werden konkrete Handlungsoptionen ausgewählt. Für die Einschätzung der Handlungsoptionen hinsichtlich ihrer Wirksamkeit bei der Sicherung und Steigerung der Erhebungsqualität können auf Basis umfangreicher Literaturauswertungen insgesamt 24 Qualitätsindikatoren zusammengestellt werden. Diese ermöglichen die systematische Bewertung der Erfassungs-, Inhalts- und Durchführungsqualität. Unter Einbeziehung der Untersuchungsgruppen und Qualitätsindikatoren wird in einer vertieften empirischen Analyse untersucht, in welchem Maße die ausgewählten Handlungsoptionen zur gruppenspezifischen Ansprache und Befragung geeignet sind und ob sich dadurch die Erhebungsqualität steigern lässt. Neben umfangreichen Gruppenvergleichen findet eine Befragungssimulation nach der Monte-Carlo-Methode statt. Die Datenbasis dieser Analysen besteht überwiegend aus den Erhebungsdurchgängen und Sondererhebungen von „Mobilität in Städten – SrV“. Im Ergebnis der Analysen lassen sich Empfehlungen für die Weiterentwicklung von Haushaltsbefragungen zur Erfassung von Verkehrsverhaltensdaten ableiten. Diese gliedern sich in einen gruppenübergreifenden Teil und einen Abschnitt für spezielle Gruppen. Noch vorangestellt ist die klare Empfehlung, bei Haushaltsbefragungen zukünftig nur noch eine Person des Haushalts zu ihren Wegen am Stichtag zu befragen. Dieses Vorgehen erleichtert die zukünftige Implementierung (sogar trennscharfer) gruppenspezifischer Ansätze deutlich. Die zusammengestellten Empfehlungen bieten eine konsistente, praktikable und auf andere Befragungen übertragbare Basis, das Erhebungsdesign bestehender und zukünftiger Haushaltsbefragungen zum Verkehrsverhalten so anzupassen, dass durch die vollständige oder zumindest teilweise Umsetzung gruppenspezifischer Ansätze eine Verbesserung der Erhebungsqualität insgesamt erzielt werden kann. / This dissertation addresses the question of how the quality of household travel surveys can be determined, evaluated, and ensured for the development of future surveys. The willingness of individuals to participate is an important, but by no means exclusive, indicator of quality. A central research question of this work deals with the concept of combining group-specific survey methods to increase survey quality. Beginning with some fundamental terminological considerations, this work then focuses on essential design elements and, in particular, sources of error in surveys in empirical social research in order to establish various approaches for assessing the quality of a survey. Building on this, household travel surveys are introduced in specific examples, and approaches for quality assurance in such household travel surveys are compiled. A comparison of design elements and possible errors in household travel surveys provides for the identification and description of nine areas of activity. In the context of findings from the surveying practice as well as experience in conducting several waves of the research project "Mobility in Cities – SrV", the extent to which the respective fields of action can contribute to the reduction of errors and to quality assurance was assessed. On this basis, concrete options for action were selected. In order to evaluate the courses for action in terms of their effectiveness in securing and increasing the quality of surveys, a total of 24 quality indicators were compiled on the basis of extensive literature review. These allowed for the systematic assessment of three areas: quality of collection, content, and of application. With the involvement of analysis groups and quality indicators, a detailed empirical analysis was carried out to examine the extent to which the selected courses for action are suitable for group-specific combinations of survey methods and whether this can increase survey quality. In addition to extensive group comparisons, a survey simulation was implemented using the Monte Carlo method. The data foundation for these analyses primarily consisted of the surveys carried out for the research project "Mobility in Cities – SrV". These analyses enabled the establishment of recommendations which further the development of household travel surveys; these were divided into a cross-group section as well as a section for specific groups. Prior to these recommendations, it became clear that for future household travel surveys, only one individual in the household should be questioned regarding their trips on specific reference days. This decision significantly facilitates the future implementation of (even more selective) group-specific approaches. The compiled recommendations provide a consistent, practical foundation that can be applied to other surveys in order to adapt the design of existing and future household travel surveys, thus providing an overall or at least partial implementation of group-specific approaches which can improve overall survey quality.

The goal of this study was to develop Multinomial Logit models for the mode choice behavior of immigrants, with key focuses on neighborhood effects and behavioral assimilation. The first aspect shows the relationship between social network ties and immigrants’ chosen mode of transportation, while the second aspect explores the gradual changes toward alternative mode usage with regard to immigrants’ migrating period in the United States (US). Mode choice models were developed for work, shopping, social, recreational, and other trip purposes to evaluate the impacts of various land use patterns, neighborhood typology, socioeconomic-demographic and immigrant related attributes on individuals’ travel behavior. Estimated coefficients of mode choice determinants were compared between each alternative mode (i.e., high-occupancy vehicle, public transit, and non-motorized transport) with single-occupant vehicles. The model results revealed the significant influence of neighborhood and land use variables on the usage of alternative modes among immigrants. Incorporating these indicators into the demand forecasting process will provide a better understanding of the diverse travel patterns for the unique composition of population groups in Florida.

Indian cities are currently facing various transportation issues like congestion, pollution, urban inequity, high fatality rate due to accidents etc. because of an increase in the ownership of private motor vehicles and their usage. This has prompted many policy makers to search for alternate modal options that are more sustainable than motorized modes. Non Motorized Transport (NMT), which includes mainly walking and cycling in an urban context, do not produce many of the issues associated with motorized modes like congestion, pollution, fatal accidents etc. But, promotion of NMT requires a clear-cut planning strategy, with a lucid understanding of various strategies and their effect on the NMT usage. Present study tries to answer certain pertinent questions, particularly with respect to walking and cycling, which can arise while preparing a plan for promoting NMT in Indian cities. The following are the questions that the author seeks to answer in the present study. 1) Which are the areas inside a city that a planner shall target for promotion of NMT?2) Where shall a planner locate the infrastructures for NMT in these areas?3) What may be the possible impacts of providing these NMT facilities?4) What may be the possible effect of built environment factors on the choice of NMT? Providing NMT infrastructures requires knowledge of location characteristics such as the trip distance of NMT. Present study tries to elicit the existing distance characteristics of walking and cycling in terms of an acceptable trip distance. The household travel data of Bangalore city, for the year 2009, are used in the study. First, a description and a statistical analysis of the walking and cycling trip distances across the subcategories of socio-demographic and regional factors is done. Secondly, the acceptable distance is computed from the cumulative trip length distribution based on the results of the statistical analysis. The socio-demographic and regional factors used in the study include purpose, age, gender, educational level, occupational status, and motor vehicle ownership. The major results include a significant difference between the mean trip distances on foot for the subcategories of variables such as gender (z value, 4.94), whether the respondent owned a private vehicle (z value, -21.2), and whether the trip was made inside the Central Business District (CBD) (z value, -3.93). One of the major implications of this study pertains to requirement of a footpath around main activity centers like bus stations, at least up to a distance of 1385 meters (maximum value for walking as the main mode) and around the bus stops, at least up to a distance of 750 meters (maximum value for walking as the access mode). Next, the present study analyzes the influence of built environment factors –density and diversity -on the mode choice and trip distance of the residents in the Bangalore city. The built environment factors are analyzed, for their marginal effects in the presence of various socio-demographic and alternative attributes, for the two segments -respondents owning at least a personal vehicle and respondents not owning any personal vehicle. The density used is the total density, which was the sum of population density in a zone and employment density in a zone. The diversity index, which was an explainer of the land-use mixture, was set such that, when a zone with small area had employment opportunities comparable with its population, the diversity index would be high. When tested on a holdout sample other than the ones used in the estimation of the mode choice model, for the vehicle-owning group, the model estimated produced a validation accuracy of 93% and 91% respectively for two-wheelers and walking. For the vehicle non-owning group, the prediction success rate was highest for walking (97%), and lowest for public transit (84%). For the vehicle non-owning group, an increase in the density increased the trip distance (parameter values of 0.016 for total density at origin and 0.002 for total density at destination) and decreased the NMT usage (parameter values of -0.036 and 0.038 respectively for cycling and walking for total density at origin, and -0.092 and 0.073 respectively for cycling and walking for total density at destination), but for the vehicle-owning group, the inverse was true. The results for the vehicle non-owning group highlighted the requirement of a policy framework to control the employment and housing location of them in order to reduce their trip distance. In the mode choice model for the personal vehicle-owning group, the similarity between the parameters of the built environment factors across the two-wheeler and NMT reflected the need for adopting policies that would change the attitude of people towards NMT. Also, the trip distance model determined that females preferred a shorter working distance, with a parameter value -0.109 for the vehicle-owning group and -0.04 for the vehicle non-owning group, when compared with males. Lastly, the study develops a methodological framework to determine the sustainability impact on providing NMT infrastructures using a Composite Sustainability Index (CSI). More specifically, the study develops a methodological framework to determine the variation in the CSI on providing NMT -walking and cycling – infrastructure. The methodology establishes a link between the proposed NMT infrastructures and the CSI using two explanatory indicators: 1) number of motorized vehicles and 2) vehicle-kilometers travelled by the motorized modes. The main components of the framework include the estimation of a mode choice model for a study area, calculation of the explanatory indicators for the scenarios before and after providing NMT infrastructures, and determination of the sustainability impact. The proposed framework, along with the acceptable distance determined in the earlier step, is then used to determine the sustainability impact on providing NMT facilities, for a future scenario, inside the CBD of Bangalore and around the bus stops carrying trips to the CBD. Three case studies are presented with the first one considering only intra zonal (CBD) trips, the second one considering only inter zonal trips having CBD as destination, and the third one considering both above mentioned the trips. The results of all the three case studies found an increase in the CSI (0.002 for the first case study, 0.076 for the second case study, and 0.100 for the third case study) for the peak-hour trips inside the CBD, on providing NMT infrastructures. This increase showed an improvement in the sustainability. Further, for the case study 1, which consisted of high percentage of short distance trips, the major beneficiaries of the NMT infrastructures were the low-income group. There was a reduction in public transport trips, of which the main contributors were the low-income group, from 142706.2 to 96410.2.

This diploma thesis focuses on the development of modal split, as a fundamental indicator determining travel behavior for traffic model forecasting. Firstly, approaches to traffic forecasting in the Czech Republic are described, and an emphasis is put on non-uniform definitions and factors influencing modal split. The body of the thesis describes methods of establishing, as well as the development and objective of the modal split in Brno, Zurich, Dresden, Nurnberg, and Vienna. For each city, the effects of traffic network changes on modal split and travel behavior are evaluated. Finally, the observed trends are compared with each other.

Die vorliegende Dissertationsschrift geht der Frage nach, wie die Qualität von Haushaltsbefragungen zum Verkehrsverhalten bestimmt, bewertet und für zukünftige Erhebungen sichergestellt werden kann. Dabei spielt die Teilnahmebereitschaft als ein bedeutsamer, keinesfalls aber alleiniger Qualitätsindikator eine wichtige Rolle. Eine zentrale Forschungsfrage der Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Eignung gruppenspezifischer Ansprache und Befragung zur Erhöhung der Befragungsqualität. Ausgehend von grundsätzlichen Betrachtungen zu Bedeutung, wesentlichen Designelementen und insbesondere Fehlerquellen von Befragungen in der empirischen Sozialforschung, sind verschiedene Ansätze zur Einschätzung der Qualität einer Befragung Gegenstand dieses Teils der Arbeit. Darauf aufbauend werden stichtagsbezogene Haushaltsbefragungen zum Verkehrsverhalten im Alltag als Spezialfall von Befragungen eingeführt und Ansätze zur Qualitätssicherung bei derartigen Haushaltsbefragungen zusammengetragen. Eine Gegenüberstellung von Designelementen und möglichen Fehlern bei Verkehrsverhaltensbefragungen ermöglicht die Identifizierung und Beschreibung von neun Handlungsfeldern. Im Kontext von Erkenntnissen aus der Erhebungspraxis sowie Erfahrungen bei der Durchführung mehrerer Durchgänge des Forschungsprojektes „Mobilität in Städten – SrV“ wird eingeschätzt, inwieweit die jeweiligen Handlungsfelder zur Verminderung von Fehlereinflüssen und zur Qualitätssicherung beitragen können. Auf dieser Grundlage werden konkrete Handlungsoptionen ausgewählt. Für die Einschätzung der Handlungsoptionen hinsichtlich ihrer Wirksamkeit bei der Sicherung und Steigerung der Erhebungsqualität können auf Basis umfangreicher Literaturauswertungen insgesamt 24 Qualitätsindikatoren zusammengestellt werden. Diese ermöglichen die systematische Bewertung der Erfassungs-, Inhalts- und Durchführungsqualität. Unter Einbeziehung der Untersuchungsgruppen und Qualitätsindikatoren wird in einer vertieften empirischen Analyse untersucht, in welchem Maße die ausgewählten Handlungsoptionen zur gruppenspezifischen Ansprache und Befragung geeignet sind und ob sich dadurch die Erhebungsqualität steigern lässt. Neben umfangreichen Gruppenvergleichen findet eine Befragungssimulation nach der Monte-Carlo-Methode statt. Die Datenbasis dieser Analysen besteht überwiegend aus den Erhebungsdurchgängen und Sondererhebungen von „Mobilität in Städten – SrV“. Im Ergebnis der Analysen lassen sich Empfehlungen für die Weiterentwicklung von Haushaltsbefragungen zur Erfassung von Verkehrsverhaltensdaten ableiten. Diese gliedern sich in einen gruppenübergreifenden Teil und einen Abschnitt für spezielle Gruppen. Noch vorangestellt ist die klare Empfehlung, bei Haushaltsbefragungen zukünftig nur noch eine Person des Haushalts zu ihren Wegen am Stichtag zu befragen. Dieses Vorgehen erleichtert die zukünftige Implementierung (sogar trennscharfer) gruppenspezifischer Ansätze deutlich. Die zusammengestellten Empfehlungen bieten eine konsistente, praktikable und auf andere Befragungen übertragbare Basis, das Erhebungsdesign bestehender und zukünftiger Haushaltsbefragungen zum Verkehrsverhalten so anzupassen, dass durch die vollständige oder zumindest teilweise Umsetzung gruppenspezifischer Ansätze eine Verbesserung der Erhebungsqualität insgesamt erzielt werden kann. / This dissertation addresses the question of how the quality of household travel surveys can be determined, evaluated, and ensured for the development of future surveys. The willingness of individuals to participate is an important, but by no means exclusive, indicator of quality. A central research question of this work deals with the concept of combining group-specific survey methods to increase survey quality. Beginning with some fundamental terminological considerations, this work then focuses on essential design elements and, in particular, sources of error in surveys in empirical social research in order to establish various approaches for assessing the quality of a survey. Building on this, household travel surveys are introduced in specific examples, and approaches for quality assurance in such household travel surveys are compiled. A comparison of design elements and possible errors in household travel surveys provides for the identification and description of nine areas of activity. In the context of findings from the surveying practice as well as experience in conducting several waves of the research project 'Mobility in Cities – SrV', the extent to which the respective fields of action can contribute to the reduction of errors and to quality assurance was assessed. On this basis, concrete options for action were selected. In order to evaluate the courses for action in terms of their effectiveness in securing and increasing the quality of surveys, a total of 24 quality indicators were compiled on the basis of extensive literature review. These allowed for the systematic assessment of three areas: quality of collection, content, and of application. With the involvement of analysis groups and quality indicators, a detailed empirical analysis was carried out to examine the extent to which the selected courses for action are suitable for group-specific combinations of survey methods and whether this can increase survey quality. In addition to extensive group comparisons, a survey simulation was implemented using the Monte Carlo method. The data foundation for these analyses primarily consisted of the surveys carried out for the research project 'Mobility in Cities – SrV'. These analyses enabled the establishment of recommendations which further the development of household travel surveys; these were divided into a cross-group section as well as a section for specific groups. Prior to these recommendations, it became clear that for future household travel surveys, only one individual in the household should be questioned regarding their trips on specific reference days. This decision significantly facilitates the future implementation of (even more selective) group-specific approaches. The compiled recommendations provide a consistent, practical foundation that can be applied to other surveys in order to adapt the design of existing and future household travel surveys, thus providing an overall or at least partial implementation of group-specific approaches which can improve overall survey quality.

With a foundation in social sustainability, and with the theoretical framework of transport justice and transport poverty, the aim of this thesis is to create a profile picture of the future potential travelers on the North Bothnia Line in Sävar, Robertsfors and Bureå. Both a quantitative and a qualitative analysis are performed. The quantitative analysis describes the population structures concerning age, gender, educational level, employment, household type, income and cars per 1000 inhabitants. The qualitative analysis consists of an interview study, conducted in Robertsfors, with 47 informants. The interview answers are analyzed through content analysis, and presented in personas for each age group. The three areas differ in population structure, which could have different implications on the future travel. In the planning for a socially sustainable travel with the North Bothnia Line, focus needs to be directed to the young travelers, in particular the high school youths. Families with children are facing constraints when trying to manage sustainable travel, therefore, how to create a socially sustainable travel for this group is important to consider in the planning. Young adults, as well as individuals that are unemployed are vulnerable groups, important to consider. The senior travelers have another travel behavior, compared to the population of working age, but still have their needs connected to travel. The informants are positive about the North Bothnia Line, positive about train as travel mode, and intend to use the future train. They expect that the train will lead to easier and faster transportation and work commuting, increased access to schools and jobs, population growth, open up for more opportunities, and that people do not have to own a car. The greatest needs are; a good timetable, with many departures, matching the work schedule. The train has to be on time, and the ticket price not too high. Both the train and the station have to be easily accessible, supplied with good car parking facilities with engine heaters, and the train has to go fast. Both the train and the station have to be clean and controlled, and there has to be clear, and digital information. / Norrbotniabanans noder 2

Parc marin du Saguenay - Saint-Laurent, Groupe de recherche et d'éducation sur les mammifères marins, GREMM, excursions aux baleines, bélugas, Tadoussac, règlementation, ArcCatalog, ArcMap. / L'important volume des excursions de bateaux touristiques liées aux activités d'observation en mer des mammifères marins (AOM) dans le Parc marin Saguenay-Saint-Laurent (PMSSL) pourrait avoir un impact négatif sur la santé des baleines qui fréquentent cette région de l’estuaire du fleuve Saint-Laurent. Cette situation a poussé les gestionnaires du Parc à désirer un outil d'information et de gestion pour mieux suivre l’évolution des AOM. Le présent mémoire décrit la conception de cet outil en proposant un modèle de l'excursion et des activités d'observation qui sert à l’élaboration d’une base de données. En s’appuyant sur le concept de la trajectoire spatiotemporelle, utilisée pour l'étude du comportement de déplacement basé sur l'activité, et sur le concept de l'objet mobile, développé en géomatique, notre modèle de données permet de reproduire graphiquement les trajectoires des excursions et l'enchaînement des activités qui ont lieu au cours de celles-ci. Le modèle est orienté objet et implanté dans une Geodatabase, une base de données relationnelle exploitable par le système d'information géographique (SIG) ArcGIS. Les objets de la base de données sont créés à partir des données de trois années de suivi des AOM réalisés par le Groupe de recherche et d'éducation sur les mammifères marins (GREMM). Nous montrons que le SIG peut exploiter la base de données de façon à répondre correctement aux besoins en information exprimés par les gestionnaires et que la représentation informatique des excursions sous la forme de trajectoires spatiotemporelles ouvre de nouvelles avenues de recherche sur les patrons d’activités et le comportement de déplacement des bateaux. / The considerable volume of commercial boat trips associated with whale-watching activities (WWAs) in the Saguenay-Saint-Laurent National Marine Park (PMSSL) may have negative impacts on the health of the whales visiting the Saint-Lawrence River estuary. This situation has led park officials to seek an appropriate information management system in order to better monitor WWAs. This paper contributes to the design of such a tool by modeling excursion patterns of WWAs, resulting in a database. Based on the space-time path concept used for the study of activity-based travel behavior as well as the mobile-object geomatical concept, our data-model enables us to plot the trajectories of the excursions and the sequence of activities taking place during those excursions. The model is object-oriented and built into a Geodatabase (an ArcGis-processable relational database). The objects in the database are based on data collected by the Marine Mammal Research and Education Group (GREMM) during a three-year WWA monitoring program. Finally, this report demonstrates that geographic information systems can be effectively used to process the database in a way that serves the needs of park officials, and that the representation of excursion data in a GIS opens up new avenues for research on the space-time pattern of observation activities and the travel behavior of boats.