The Impact of Geographic Location on the Utility Derived from Real-time Public Transport Information

This paper presents the results of a study undertaken in Dublin, to ascertain passenger preferences for public transport information. The study examines the need for public transport information across three stages of a public transport trip. The stages examined are as follows; stage one: pre-trip planning from home to work, stage two: at-stop/station information, and stage three: pre-trip planning from work to home. At each of these stages, the respondents were asked to choose between several methods of receiving information, via the internet, mobile phone, call centre or at stop real-time information displays. The study utilised a stated preference approach to ascertain what type of information respondents required at each stage and their willingness to pay for this information. This paper presents the findings of the study undertaken and reports several factors which affect respondent’s willingness to pay for public transport information. This paper examines several factors relating to the impact of the geographical location of a respondent in relation to the utility they derive from real-time public transport information. The first factor examined measures the impact that the proximity of an individual to a high quality public transport option has upon utility derived from real-time information. The second factor examines how the residential location of the respondent impacts upon the utility derived from real-time information. Both of these geographical factors were examined using the results of a stated choice experiment conducted in Dublin, Ireland. The first section of this paper presents the survey methodology applied in this study. The following sections present the demographic characteristics of the sample collected and the results of the multinomial logit modelling conducted on the stated choice results. The paper concludes with a discussion and conclusions section. STUDY METHODOLOGY This section details the scenarios examined and the data collection methods used in this study. Scenarios Examined In the survey respondents were asked to consider three stated choice scenarios, each of which was related to a stage of a public transport trip. The first stage examined is the pre-trip planning stage from home to the respondents’ place of work. At this stage it is assumed that the information is obtained before the individual leaves his/her home to arrive at their public transport stop/station. The choice offered at this stage was between accessing information from a call centre or a public transport web-site or via their mobile phone in the form of a short message service (SMS), at this first stage. The second scenario asked respondents, when at their public transport stop/station, which of the following they would use to receive public transport information: at stop passenger information display (PID), from a call centre or via an SMS. The final scenario presented to respondents, asked before leaving their place of work, which of the following they would choose to access public transport information from, a call centre, from a public transport website or via an SMS. In the stated choice scenarios each of these variables varied by information type, cost of information and a percentage of wait-time saved. As three stages of a public transport trip were considered in this study, three difference stated choice scenarios were examined. Table 1 presents the attributes and attribute levels of the different stated choice scenarios. Table 1: Attributes and attribute levels examined Scenario 1: Pre-trip planning from home to work Attribute Levels Attributes Internet Mobile Phone Call Centre 0% 0% 0% 10% 10% 10% Reduced Waiting Time at stop/station 20% 20% 20% Yes Yes Yes Real-time information given No No No No charge Free Text Free Call 15c 15c 15c Cost 30c 30c 30c Scenario 2: Pre-trip planning at stop/station Attribute Levels Attributes PID Mobile Phone Call Centre 0% 0% 0% 10% 10% 10% Time Saved at stop/station 20% 20% 20% Yes Yes Yes Real-time information given No No No 0c Free Text Free Call 15c 15c 15c Cost 30c 30c 30c Scenario 3: Pre-trip planning from work to home Attribute Levels Attributes Internet Mobile Phone Call Centre 0% 0% 0% 10% 10% 10% Time Saved at stop/station 20% 20% 20% Yes Yes Yes Real-time information given No No No No charge Free Text Free Call 15c 15c 15c Cost 30c 30c 30c Data Collection A stated choice survey was conducted over a two-week period from the 18th April – 9th May 2005 using web-based methods. A controlled sample was taken of office workers in Dublin city centre. A total of 1,500 surveys were distributed to the employees of the companies targeted. 495 fully completed surveys were returned, resulting in a response rate of 33%. Modelling approach A standard stated choice modelling approach was used to analyse the results in this study. This approach applies the theories of random utility and discrete choice modelling. For a detailed explanation of these approaches see Ben-Akivia & Lerman (1986), Train, (2004) or Louviere et al (2000). Utility functions are used to represent the benefit individuals derive from a good. Utility is assumed to be obtained from the characteristics of the good for example in the case of a mode of transport, the cost, time and comfort may be characteristics which would define utility (Train, 2004). In the case of this study, utility is defined by the following characteristics, wait time saved, cost, and type information provided. The utility functions for the three models/stages are as follows: Equation 1 Base model stage one