Are demand elasticities reliable measures of Induced Travel?
A number of research studies have used demand elasticities to measure the increase in vehicle travel (usually measured as VMT) associated with a change in highway travel time or highway capacity (measured in lane-miles). 4 Various advocacy groups frequently cite these studies as evidence that induced travel is much greater than what is accounted for in conventional travel demand forecasts. However, extreme caution should be used when interpreting the results of these studies to make inferences about the magnitude of induced travel. First, many of the studies that have purported to estimate induced travel using elasticities have compared changes in VMT to changes in lane-miles. By using changes in lane-miles instead of some measure of price (such as travel time), these studies overlook the importance of congestion. They imply that additional traffic would be induced by the added capacity even if there were no congestion initially on the highway facility. This conclusion is contrary to w
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- Are demand elasticities reliable measures of Induced Travel?
