RAPID: Commuter Risk Perceptions after the Washington DC Metrorail Collision

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This Grant for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) funds the collection of important, perishable data on how risk perceptions after a vivid event that received widespread media coverage 1) influence travelers' selection of transportation mode in the near, medium, and long term; 2) change the tradeoffs transit users are willing to make among safety, speed, frequency of service, cost, and reliability after such an incident; and 3) attenuate or sharpen over time and geographic distance from the accident. This grant allows a small team to collect shifting traveler perception and decision data through three waves of a survey of Metrorail and Park-and-Ride bus commuters. Our hypotheses are that in the aftermath of the accident, changes in risk perceptions over time and space?the amount of time since the June 22nd accident and the distance of commuters from both the accident site and the line on which it occurred?influence mode and route choices, as well as preferences for different characteristics of transit. We will administer a set of choice experiments in each wave to test these hypotheses.To the best of our knowledge, studies of mode choice and system preferences in the aftermath of a major disruptive event do not exist. The data will allow (1) consideration of safety in mode choice models and (2) systematic examination of the attenuation of intense feelings (resulting from the crash) over space and time and their role in decision making. This study also provides attitudinal and preference data in the context of major incidents and allows analysis that policy makers and transit agencies can use to plan appropriate alternative transit-based modes for captive riders. Such planning will help minimize personal economic impacts associated with the event and psychological impacts of temporary loss of connectivity. Furthermore, this research will improve the partnership between social science and engineering.