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Perceptions of public transport travel time and their effect on choice-sets among car drivers

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  • Nicolaas Jacob Arnold van Exel

    (Department of Health Policy & Management, institute for Medical Technology Assessment; Netherlands)

  • Piet Rietveld

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (FEW/RE); Netherlands)

Abstract

Car drivers’ perceptions of the quality of alternative travel modes have been identified as a barrier for including these alternatives in their choice sets. The present study investigated the accuracy of car drivers’ perceptions of public transport (PT) travel time and the potential effect of these perceptions on choice sets. A sample of car drivers was intercepted on the main corridors to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, using video recognition of license plates, and was sent a questionnaire asking (among other questions) whether they could have made the specific trip by PT and their estimate of the door-to-door travel time by PT. Objective travel times were obtained from route-planning software. 21,335 questionnaires (31\%) were returned. About 10 percent did not report PT travel time for their car trip, largely car drivers who did not perceive PT as an alternative. The mean ratio of perceived travel time by PT to reported travel time by car was 1 : 2.3. About half the difference was due to distorted perceptions, and the ratio reported depended strongly on their PT use. Analysis of associations between choice set and characteristics of traveler and trip showed that if perceived PT travel times were more accurate a substantial number of car drivers would include PT in their choice set. Actual changes in behavior might be much smaller.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicolaas Jacob Arnold van Exel & Piet Rietveld, 2010. "Perceptions of public transport travel time and their effect on choice-sets among car drivers," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 2(3), pages 75-86.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:jtralu:0040
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    9. Patricia Mokhtarian & Francis Papon & Matthieu Goulard & Marco Diana, 2015. "What makes travel pleasant and/or tiring? An investigation based on the French National Travel Survey," Transportation, Springer, vol. 42(6), pages 1103-1128, November.
    10. Miura, Ayako & Nishinari, Katsuhiro, 2017. "A passenger distribution analysis model for the perceived time of airplane boarding/deboarding, utilizing an ex-Gaussian distribution," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 44-49.
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    12. Mondschein, Andrew Samuel, 2013. "The Personal City: The Experiential, Cognitive Nature of Travel and Activity and Implications for Accessibility," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt7014d9cg, University of California Transportation Center.
    13. Mondschein, Andrew Samuel, 2012. "The Personal City: The Experimental, Cognitive Nature of Travel and Activity and Implications for Accessibility," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt67d5w48s, University of California Transportation Center.
    14. Pavithra Parthasarathi & Hartwig Hochmair & David Levinson, 2012. "Network Structure and Spatial Separation," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 39(1), pages 137-154, February.
    15. Dixit, Vinayak & Jian, Sisi & Hassan, Asif & Robson, Edward, 2019. "Eliciting perceptions of travel time risk and exploring its impact on value of time," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 36-45.
    16. Mokhtarian, Patricia L. & Ye, Liang & Yun, Meiping, 2010. "The Effects of Gender on Commuter Behavior Changes in the Context of a Major Freeway Construction," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt86c4v6cr, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    17. Pavithra Parthasarathi & David Levinson & Hartwig Hochmair, 2012. "Network Structure and Travel Time Perception," Working Papers 000102, University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group.
    18. David Levinson, 2011. "Introduction," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 4(1), pages 1-3.
    19. repec:plo:pone00:0077718 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Liu, Shiyong & Triantis, Konstantinos P. & Sarangi, Sudipta, 2010. "A framework for evaluating the dynamic impacts of a congestion pricing policy for a transportation socioeconomic system," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(8), pages 596-608, October.
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    Keywords

    Transport;

    JEL classification:

    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General

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