A joint model for mode choice and escort decisions of school trips

A considerable shift has occurred in mode choice behaviour and escort pattern of students for their school trips around the world during the last few decades. This shift towards using more non-active modes has undesirable consequences, including physical inactivity among students, traffic jams during peak hours, and adverse environmental impacts. Hence, understanding the behaviour of decision-makers with regard to the mode choice and escorting pattern selection is crucial for controlling the trend of the shift and promoting active modes. This study is the first effort to mathematically model the mode choice and accompaniment pattern selection by parents for the school trip of students, in a joint modelling structure as it is believed that these two decisions are jointly made by parents. Two modelling formulations are used: a nested logit (NL) model and a copula-based model. Results showed that the copula model outperforms the NL model. It was also found that modelling these two decisions in an independent manner can result in misleading policy assessments.