Temporal utility profiles of activities and travel: Uncertainty and decision making

This paper further develops the concept of analyzing the temporal utility profiles of actions, i.e. activities accompanied by the associated effort such as travel. This approach integrates elements of different approaches aimed at studying travel behavior, such as activity-based approaches, utility maximization theory and dynamic analysis. It generally intends to broaden the context of studying human travel behavior by focusing primarily on activities as a primary reason for travel. The nature of the competition among alternative chains of actions is discussed within a modified context of utility maximization theory. The issue of constraints in travel-related choices is explored. Introduction to the uncertainty element appears to contribute toward further refinement of the utility profile concept. Extensions of the proposed approach as well as its potential applications are discussed.