In travel demand modeling, it is somewhat common to “assert” coefficients rather than estimating them from data. I think most modelers would agree that this is a process that should be avoided when possible, but that is sometimes necessary—for example, to model mode choice for a mode that does not exist in a region yet. For example, the following guidance from the Federal Transit Administration appears in NCHRP 716:
By Matt Bhagat-Conway
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Accessibility metrics are increasingly being used for planning, with planning agencies measuring what opportunities the transportation network connects residents to. A common accessibility metric is the “cumulative opportunities” metric, which measures how many opportunities can be reached within a given travel time budget—these opportunities could be jobs, grocery stores, or even abstract space. Furthermore, accessibility is frequently invoked in discussions of just transportation systems. Karel Martens and Rafael H.M. Pereira both argue that just transport systems should provide a baseline level of access to all individuals.