Influence of Weather on Transport Demand: A Case Study from the Vienna Region

In times of increasing travel demand urban transport systems are under continuous stress. Knowledge on the impact of weather on any given day needs to be obtained in order to efficiently operate such system. While it is expected that weather related impact will not dominate travel demand (e.g work trips cannot be easily omitted), trips may be delayed or different modes may be chosen. It is well known that transport systems that operate close to capacity react highly nonlinearly to an addition in demand. Thus changes in weather might lead to totally different settings for the management of the transport systems. This paper provides evidence for the influence of weather on travel demand for the greater Vienna region. Long term household mobility surveys are used for a descriptive analysis of the influence of weather on travel behavior. Statistical modeling of smaller mobility surveys allows extrapolation to new situations as well as an analysis of the joint influence of several variables. We provide significant evidence that weather has a strong influence on the mobility choices of a large part of the population. The results emphasize that the weather impact depends heavily on mode and purpose of the trip and the characteristics of the traveler. The results of the paper can be used on the aggregate level to predict the impact of weather on traffic demand. This information is important for the management of transport systems both in terms of supply management and demand management for ensuring efficiency of urban transportation systems.