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Public transport reliability and commuter strategy

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  • Monchambert, Guillaume
  • de Palma, André

Abstract

We consider the modeling of a bi-modal competitive network involving a public transport mode, which may be unreliable, and an alternative mode. Commuters select a transport mode and their arrival time at the station when they use public transport. The public transport reliability set by the public transport firm at the competitive equilibrium increases with the alternative mode fare, via a demand effect. This is reminiscent of the Mohring Effect. The study of the optimal service quality shows that often, public transport reliability and thereby patronage are lower at equilibrium compared to first-best social optimum. The paper provides some public policy insights.

Suggested Citation

  • Monchambert, Guillaume & de Palma, André, 2014. "Public transport reliability and commuter strategy," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 14-29.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:81:y:2014:i:c:p:14-29
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2014.02.001
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    Cited by:

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    2. Kilani, Moez & de Palma, André & Proost, Stef, 2017. "Are users better-off with new transit lines?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 95-105.
    3. Börjesson, Maria & Fung, Chau Man & Proost, Stef & Yan, Zifei, 2018. "Do buses hinder cyclists or is it the other way around? Optimal bus fares, bus stops and cycling tolls," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 326-346.
    4. André de Palma & Robin Lindsey & Guillaume Monchambert, 2017. "The Economics of Crowding in Public Transport," Post-Print hal-01203310, HAL.
    5. Yi Fan & Ho Pin Teo & Wayne X. Wan, 2021. "Public transport, noise complaints, and housing: Evidence from sentiment analysis in Singapore," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 570-596, June.
    6. Li, Hao & Gao, Kun & Tu, Huizhao, 2017. "Variations in mode-specific valuations of travel time reliability and in-vehicle crowding: Implications for demand estimation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 250-263.
    7. de Palma, André & Lindsey, Robin & Monchambert, Guillaume, 2017. "The economics of crowding in rail transit," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 106-122.
    8. Liping Ge & Stefan Voß & Lin Xie, 2022. "Robustness and disturbances in public transport," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 191-261, March.
    9. Börjesson, Maria & Fung, Chau Man & Proost, Stef & Yan, Zifei, 2017. "Cycling tolls and optimal number of bus stops: the importance of congestion and crowding," Working papers in Transport Economics 2017:10, CTS - Centre for Transport Studies Stockholm (KTH and VTI).
    10. Mahdi Rezapour & Kelly Cuccolo & Christopher Veenstra & F. Richard Ferraro, 2021. "An Item Response Theory to Analyze the Psychological Impacts of Rail-Transport Delay," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-14, June.
    11. Andreas Økland & Nils O. E. Olsson, 2021. "Punctuality development and delay explanation factors on Norwegian railways in the period 2005–2014," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 127-161, March.
    12. An, Qinhe & Fu, Xiao & Huang, Di & Cheng, Qixiu & Liu, Zhiyuan, 2020. "Analysis of adding-runs strategy for peak-hour regular bus services," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    13. Li, Zhi-Chun & Huang, Hai-Jun & Yang, Hai, 2020. "Fifty years of the bottleneck model: A bibliometric review and future research directions," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 311-342.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public transport; Reliability; Duopoly; Welfare; Mohring Effect; Schedule delay;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection

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