Pricing strategies for public transport
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
2016
Subject Area
place - australasia, mode - bus, mode - rail, literature review - literature review, planning - surveys, planning - service quality, ridership - perceptions, infrastructure - stop, infrastructure - station, infrastructure - vehicle, economics - value of time, economics - willingness to pay, economics - pricing
Keywords
public transport service quality, rating surveys, stated preference, value of time, willingness to pay
Abstract
The study looked at the trade-off between price and quality for bus and train users in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. After reviewing the literature, a survey of 12,557 bus and rail passengers on over 1,000 bus and train services was undertaken in 2012/13 using a stated preference (SP) and a rating questionnaire. The SP questionnaire presented a set of pair-wise choices. The rating questionnaire enabled valued vehicle and stop/station quality to be valued on a percentage scale from 0% (very poor) to very good (100%). The vehicle ratings were compared with ‘objective’ data such as bus age; the rail station ratings were compared with objective such as ‘years since last refurbishment’; and the bus stop ratings were compared with perceived data on facility provision such as seating. A set of explanatory rating models were then developed, which in combination with the SP results, enabled vehicle and stop/station quality to be valued in terms of fare and in-vehicle time.
Rights
Permission to publish the abstract has been given by NZTA, copyright remains with them.
Recommended Citation
Douglas, N. (2016). Pricing strategies for public transport. NZ Transport Agency Research Report 565. pp. 322.
