IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-01517820.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Crowding in public transport: Who cares and why?

Author

Listed:
  • Luke Haywood

    (DIW Berlin - Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung)

  • Martin Koning

    (IFSTTAR - Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux)

  • Guillaume Monchambert

    (LAET - Laboratoire Aménagement Économie Transports - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - ENTPE - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ENS Cachan - École normale supérieure - Cachan)

Abstract

Crowding on public transport (PT) is a major issue for commuters around the world. Nevertheless, economists have rarely investigated the causes of crowding discomfort. Furthermore, most evidence on the costs of PT crowding is based on trade-offs between crowding, travel time and money. First, this paper assesses discomfort with PT crowding at various density levels across heterogeneous individuals using a different methodology. Based on a survey of 1000 Paris PT users, the negative relationship of in-vehicle density on reported satisfaction is similar to previous studies investigating PT crowding costs and stable across most individual characteristics. We also find a sensitive increase in crowding costs over users' income. Second, we investigate the causes of this discomfort effect. We identify three key drivers: (a) dissatisfaction with standing and not being seated; (b) less opportunities to make use of the time during the journey; (c) the physical closeness of other travelers per se.

Suggested Citation

  • Luke Haywood & Martin Koning & Guillaume Monchambert, 2017. "Crowding in public transport: Who cares and why?," Post-Print hal-01517820, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01517820
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2017.04.022
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-01517820
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-01517820/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tra.2017.04.022?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. AndrewE. Clark & Claudia Senik, 2010. "Who Compares to Whom? The Anatomy of Income Comparisons in Europe," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(544), pages 573-594, May.
    2. Wardman, Mark & Murphy, Paul, 2015. "Passengers’ valuations of train seating layout, position and occupancy," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 222-238.
    3. Ian W. H. Parry & Kenneth A. Small, 2009. "Should Urban Transit Subsidies Be Reduced?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(3), pages 700-724, June.
    4. Cox, Tom & Houdmont, Jonathan & Griffiths, Amanda, 2006. "Rail passenger crowding, stress, health and safety in Britain," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 244-258, March.
    5. dell'Olio, Luigi & Ibeas, Angel & Cecin, Patricia, 2011. "The quality of service desired by public transport users," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 217-227, January.
    6. Kraus, Marvin, 1991. "Discomfort externalities and marginal cost transit fares," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 249-259, March.
    7. de Palma, André & Kilani, Moez & Proost, Stef, 2015. "Discomfort in mass transit and its implication for scheduling and pricing," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 1-18.
    8. Batarce, Marco & Muñoz, Juan Carlos & Ortúzar, Juan de Dios, 2016. "Valuing crowding in public transport: Implications for cost-benefit analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 358-378.
    9. Yung-Hsiang Cheng, 2010. "Exploring passenger anxiety associated with train travel," Transportation, Springer, vol. 37(6), pages 875-896, November.
    10. Haywood, Luke & Koning, Martin, 2015. "The distribution of crowding costs in public transport: New evidence from Paris," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 182-201.
    11. Meyers-Levy, Joan & Maheswaran, Durairaj, 1991. "Exploring Differences in Males' and Females' Processing Strategies," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 18(1), pages 63-70, June.
    12. Sergio Jara-Díaz & Antonio Gschwender, 2003. "Towards a general microeconomic model for the operation of public transport," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(4), pages 453-469, July.
    13. Li, Zheng & Hensher, David A., 2011. "Crowding and public transport: A review of willingness to pay evidence and its relevance in project appraisal," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 880-887, November.
    14. De Borger, Bruno & Wouters, Sandra, 1998. "Transport externalities and optimal pricing and supply decisions in urban transportation: a simulation analysis for Belgium," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 163-197, March.
    15. Henderson, J. Vernon, 1981. "The economics of staggered work hours," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 349-364, May.
    16. Mark Wardman, 2014. "Valuing Convenience in Public Transport: Roundtable Summary and Conclusions," International Transport Forum Discussion Papers 2014/2, OECD Publishing.
    17. Metcalfe, Robert & Dolan, Paul, 2012. "Behavioural economics and its implications for transport," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 503-511.
    18. Daniel Kahneman & Alan B. Krueger, 2006. "Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    19. Mark Wardman & Gerard Whelan, 2011. "Twenty Years of Rail Crowding Valuation Studies: Evidence and Lessons from British Experience," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 379-398.
    20. Tirachini, Alejandro & Sun, Lijun & Erath, Alexander & Chakirov, Artem, 2016. "Valuation of sitting and standing in metro trains using revealed preferences," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 94-104.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Haywood, Luke & Koning, Martin, 2015. "The distribution of crowding costs in public transport: New evidence from Paris," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 182-201.
    2. Hörcher, Daniel & Tirachini, Alejandro, 2021. "A review of public transport economics," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    3. Matthieu Lapparent & Martin Koning, 2016. "Analyzing time sensitivity to discomfort in the Paris subway: an interval data model approach," Transportation, Springer, vol. 43(5), pages 913-933, September.
    4. Zhang, Junlin & Yang, Hai & Lindsey, Robin & Li, Xinwei, 2020. "Modeling and managing congested transit service with heterogeneous users under monopoly," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 249-266.
    5. Tirachini, Alejandro & Hurtubia, Ricardo & Dekker, Thijs & Daziano, Ricardo A., 2017. "Estimation of crowding discomfort in public transport: Results from Santiago de Chile," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 311-326.
    6. Márquez, Luis & Alfonso A, Julieth V. & Poveda, Juan C., 2019. "In-vehicle crowding: Integrating tangible attributes, attitudes, and perceptions in a choice context between BRT and metro," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 452-465.
    7. Hörcher, Daniel & Graham, Daniel J. & Anderson, Richard J., 2017. "Crowding cost estimation with large scale smart card and vehicle location data," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 105-125.
    8. Hörcher, Daniel & De Borger, Bruno & Seifu, Woubit & Graham, Daniel J., 2020. "Public transport provision under agglomeration economies," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    9. Haywood, Luke & Koning, Martin & Prud'homme, Remy, 2018. "The economic cost of subway congestion: Estimates from Paris," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 1-8.
    10. Börjesson, Maria & Fung, Chau Man & Proost, Stef, 2017. "Optimal prices and frequencies for buses in Stockholm," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 9(C), pages 20-36.
    11. Bouscasse, Hélène & de Lapparent, Matthieu, 2019. "Perceived comfort and values of travel time savings in the Rhône-Alpes Region," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 370-387.
    12. De Borger, Bruno & Proost, Stef, 2015. "The political economy of public transport pricing and supply decisions," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 95-109.
    13. 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.
    14. Hörcher, Daniel & De Borger, Bruno & Graham, Daniel J., 2023. "Subsidised transport services in a fiscal federation: Why local governments may be against decentralised service provision," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 34(C).
    15. Björklund, Gunilla & Swärdh, Jan-Erik, 2017. "Estimating policy values for in-vehicle comfort and crowding reduction in local public transport☆," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 453-472.
    16. Hörcher, Daniel & Graham, Daniel J. & Anderson, Richard J., 2018. "The economics of seat provision in public transport," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 277-292.
    17. De Borger, Bruno & Proost, Stef, 2022. "Covid-19 and optimal urban transport policy," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 20-42.
    18. Svanberg , Lisa & Pyddoke, Roger, 2020. "Policies for on-board crowding in public transportation : a literature review," Working Papers 2020:6, Swedish National Road & Transport Research Institute (VTI).
    19. Aghabayk, Kayvan & Esmailpour, Javad & Shiwakoti, Nirajan, 2021. "Effects of COVID-19 on rail passengers’ crowding perceptions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 186-202.
    20. Luan, Xiaojie & Corman, Francesco, 2022. "Passenger-oriented traffic control for rail networks: An optimization model considering crowding effects on passenger choices and train operations," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 239-272.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public transport; Crowding; Stated satisfaction; Travel cost; Survey data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01517820. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.