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Optimal fares and frequencies for bus services in small cities

Author

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  • Asplund, Disa

    (CTS - Centre for Transport Studies Stockholm (KTH and VTI))

  • Pyddoke, Roger

    (CTS - Centre for Transport Studies Stockholm (KTH and VTI))

Abstract

This paper evaluates the welfare effects of optimizing bus service fares and frequencies in small cities by modeling street congestion and crowding in public transport vehicles. The model is calibrated to the Swedish city of Uppsala. A simple demand model is used. Sensitivity analyses suggest that this is sufficient for representing important welfare effects, and that parameter uncertainty is more important than model uncertainty in this respect. The results indicate that there would be large, robust welfare gains from reducing public transport supply in Uppsala, especially in the outer zone of the city where reductions of supply would be large compared to the current situation. The welfare gains from adjusting fares would be smaller.

Suggested Citation

  • Asplund, Disa & Pyddoke, Roger, 2018. "Optimal fares and frequencies for bus services in small cities," Working papers in Transport Economics 2018:1, CTS - Centre for Transport Studies Stockholm (KTH and VTI), revised 08 Apr 2019.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2018_001
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kilani, Moez & Proost, Stef & van der Loo, Saskia, 2014. "Road pricing and public transport pricing reform in Paris: Complements or substitutes?," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 175-187.
    2. 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.
    3. Pyddoke , Roger & Norheim, Bård & Betanzo , Mari Fossheim, 2017. "A model for strategic planning of sustainable urban transport in Scandinavia: a case study of Uppsala," Working papers in Transport Economics 2017:7, CTS - Centre for Transport Studies Stockholm (KTH and VTI).
    4. 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).
    5. Proost, Stef & Dender, Kurt Van, 2008. "Optimal urban transport pricing in the presence of congestion, economies of density and costly public funds," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 42(9), pages 1220-1230, November.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Asplund, Disa & Pyddoke, Roger, 2018. "Can increases in public transport supply be justified by concern for low-income individuals?," Working papers in Transport Economics 2018:7, CTS - Centre for Transport Studies Stockholm (KTH and VTI), revised 30 Mar 2020.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public transport; Bus; Demand model; Fares; Frequencies; Supply; Optimization; Urban; Welfare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General
    • 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

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