In-depth, Breath-first or Both? Toward the Development of a RUM-DFT Discrete Choice Model

Abstract

Development in discrete choice modelling has been dominated by Random Utility Maximization approaches due to their ease of application and high economic interpretability. However, this model assumes that decision-makers perform an in-depth information search process (ISP) implicitly and instantaneously. It has not been investigated in detail whether the ISP of transport users is in depth or breadth-first in a public transport choice context, a gap that this research aims to fill. To this end, the ISP of public transport users has been characterized in three SP surveys with click-tracking, which were pivoted concerning commute and varied in the number of dimensions. The results allow us to conclude that the ISP is part of a heuristic, heterogeneous, complex, and mixed deliberation process, which depends on the dimensions of the choice tasks. However, breadth-first searches predominate, i.e., the evaluation of information is done by comparing alternatives under one attribute in each search.