This paper presents a detailed exploratory analysis of joint activity participation characteristics using the American Time Use Survey (ATUS). As avery large nationwide survey that explicitly elicited information on bothhousehold and non-household companions for each activity episode, the ATUS is ideally suited for this analysis. Several intuitive and interesting results are obtained. Joint episodes are found to be of longer durations, significantly likely to take place at the residence of other people, and often confined to certain time periods of the weekday. In addition, important differences in these characteristics are also observed based on activitypurpose, companion type, and the day of the week. These findings are intended to provide the basis for the justification of detailed collection of joint activity-travel participation information in household activity-travel surveys, and also as a stimulant for further empirical analysis and modeling of joint activity participation behavior.
Abstract