Analysing Demand for Suburban Trips: A Mixed RP/SP Model with Latent Variables and Interaction Effects

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2006

Subject Area

operations - frequency, ridership - mode choice, ridership - demand, economics - willingness to pay, economics - value of time, place - urban, place - low density

Keywords

Willingness to pay, Value of time, Travel time, Travel models (Travel demand), Travel demand, Travel costs, Travel behavior, Transportation policy, Suburbs, Stated preferences, Socioeconomic factors, Socioeconomic aspects, Revealed preferences, Passenger comfort, Mode choice, Modal choice, Level of service, Journey time, Gran Canaria (Canary Islands), Frequency of service, Choice of transportation, Automobile use, Automobile usage, Automobile travel

Abstract

This paper uses mixed revealed preference (RP)/stated preference (SP) information to analyze mode choice behavior for suburban trips in the Grand Canary Island. The SP choice experiment allowed for interactions among the main policy variables: travel cost, travel time and frequency, and allowed for the influence of latent variables such as comfort. The inclusion of interaction terms in the specification required a detailed analysis of the sign and magnitude of the parameters accompanying them. The RP survey produced data on actual trip behavior and was used to adapt the SP choice experiment. During the specification searches, the authors detected the presence of income effect and were able to derive willingness-to-pay measures, such as the subjective value of time, which varied among individuals. They also studied the systematic heterogeneity in individual tastes through the specification of models allowing for interactions between level-of-service and socioeconomic variables. The sensitivity of travelers’ behavior to various policy scenarios was also examined. Findings suggest that demand was much more sensitive to raises in parking costs than to fare reductions, suggesting that penalizing automobile use is the most effective way to influence the use of public transportation in the Grand Canary Island.

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