A framework for developing a daily activity and multimodal travel planner

There is a need to further explore ways to use Advanced Traveler Information Systems to encourage transit and ridesharing. One mechanism is to provide convenient travel itinerary information, not just for one trip, but for a day's travel. The formulation should consider time constraints, activity needs, real transit service parameters and the actual street system. Basic algorithmic development is needed to spur the private sector interest in such a product by demonstrating its utility. The activity travel planner will aid its user in planning his daily itinerary by arranging the sequence of stops, suggesting and possibly selecting stop locations, providing transit route and schedule information, and suggesting travel routes. This paper develops a framework for solving the Travel Itinerary Planning Problem which is a variant of the Traveling Salesman Problem. Implementation of the solution algorithm would be used to develop and test a prototype for an activity and travel planner.