Journal Article

The Integrated Choice and Latent Variable Model for Exploring the Mechanisms of Pedestrian Route Choice

Wu, Chenyang, Li, Dawei, Lin, Yifan, Jin, Cheng-Jie, Li, Ningxuan

2025

Overview

The Integrated Choice and Latent Variable (ICLV) model has been widely applied in travel behavior studies, yet its use in understanding pedestrian route choice remains very limited. This paper seeks to address this gap by analyzing data from a series of controlled pedestrian route choice experiments. Four groups of experimental runs were designed, each involving two route options. The first three groups introduced specific controls: bottlenecks, distance constraints, and extra rewards, while the fourth group, without any imposed control, focused on the influence of route geometry (lengths and widths). For each group, we developed measurement and structural models, followed by three comparative models: a binary logit model using only measured variables (MV model), a model using only latent variables (LV model), and the ICLV model that integrates both. Across all the four scenarios, the adjusted R2 values have been improved from 0.286/0.135/0.108/0.035 (MV model) to 0.329/0.161/0.111/0.056 (ICLV model), and the ICLV model can provide interpretable results. These findings highlight the value of incorporating latent constructs based on Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), which enhances the explanatory power of pedestrian route choice models. Moreover, the differences in significant latent variables across various experimental settings offers further insights into the distinct mechanisms underlying pedestrian decision-making under varying conditions.

• Publisher: MDPI AG
• Subject: Analysis / Attitudes / Behavior / Decision making / integrated choice and latent variable model / Literature reviews / Logit models / pedestrian experiment / pedestrian route choice / Pedestrians / Perceptions / Route choice / Route selection / Sociodemographics / structural equation modeling / Structural models / Variables