Developing advanced route choice models for heavy goods vehicles using GPS data

•Novel large scale application of heavy goods vehicle route choice using GPS data.•Uses advanced error components model.•Uses entire network of England, with many long journeys.•Shows low elasticities to travel time changes. This paper presents a novel application in route choice modelling using Global Positioning System (GPS) data, focussing on heavy goods vehicles which typically make longer journeys with decisions potentially underpinned by different priorities from those used by car drivers. The scope of the study is larger than many previous ones, using the entire road network of England. Making use of the error components model put forward for route choice by Frejinger and Bierlaire (2007), the work reveals low elasticities in response to changes in travel time, reflecting the limited opportunity for avoiding specific roads on long distance journeys by heavy goods vehicles.