In depth, breadth-first or both? Characterising the information search process in a public transport SP experiment

Development in discrete choice modelling has been dominated by Random Utility Maximization approaches due to their ease of application and high economic interpretability. However, this model assumes that decision-makers perform an in-depth information search process implicitly and instantaneously. It has not been investigated in detail whether the information search process (ISP) of transport users is in depth or breadth-first in a public transport choice context, a gap that this research aims to fill. To this end, the ISP of public transport users has been characterized in three stated preference surveys with click-tracking, which were pivoted concerning morning peak trips and varied in the number of areas of interest shown (AOI). These values were hidden and only one attribute at a time was made visible, and clicks were recorded to evaluate the respondents' ISP. Three main conclusions can be drawn from the findings. First, the pattern of searching for information in breadth-first predominates independently of the AOIs displayed. Second, more searches are performed than the amount of information displayed and this value increases at a decreasing rate with increasing AOIs. Third, the most likely transitions during the deliberation process are those that arise from breadth-first searches.