TimeUse+: Testing a novel survey for understanding travel, time use, and expenditure behavior

Abstract

Travel diaries are commonly used to better understand how and why residents of an area choose to move around their environment. Recent studies have increased the complexity of their travel diaries, be it through accounting for further relevant characteristics within the diary itself or with questionnaires, all with the goal of accurately contextualizing these travel decisions. TimeUse+ is a novel tool that collects GPS tracks passively and has users actively enrich tracked events with activity and expenditure information all within the same diary app. We document all components of our flexible platform in their entirety before evaluating the data collection tool in two applications with over 200 individuals in Switzerland. We test several configurations that alter study duration, detail of activities performed, and the monetary incentive offered. Results suggest that it is reasonable to apply our framework for an extended period of four weeks, yielding rich longitudinal accounts of individuals’ travel, time use, and expenditure patterns. We discuss adjustments made along the way to improve the app and accompanying materials and present initial results about how Swiss residents use their time and money. We ultimately describe limitations of the framework and outline next steps for the project.