On the consistency between commuting satisfaction and traveling utility: the case of the University of Luxembourg

According to random utility theory, there is no clear distinction between the utility inferred
from observed choices (decision utility), the experienced outcome of decision makers’
(experienced utility) or their retrospective evaluation (remembered utility). While empirical
experiments have shown that decision utility and remembered utility do not perfectly coincide,
little is known regarding the magnitude of this discrepancy, especially in the transport field.
Using a cross-sectional travel survey, the objective of this paper is to quantify the relationship
between commuters’ stated choice satisfaction (a proxy for remembered utility) and the Logsum
function of the utility of all available modes of transport (decision utility). This is of tremendous
importance, as implemented transport policy measures, which aim to increase the overall
decision makers’ utility, may have low impact on their satisfaction level and thus be ineffective.
Results indicate that the utility Logsum is associated with respondents’ commuting satisfaction.
However, context specificities have an important impact on this association.