Schedule Delay and Departure Time Decisions in a Deterministic Model

We develop a simple approach for modeling schedule delay in a deterministic setting based on user equilibrium concepts and deterministic queuing theory. Several cases of peak period commuting or travel to scheduled events (such as sporting events) are analyzed as illustrations. The results demonstrate the importance of schedule delay for departure time decisions. The analysis framework can be used to improve the transportation planning and evaluation process, and we have identified several related research issues which could provide further insights into departure time decisions and the performance of transportation systems.