Public transport systems of the future: Enhancing user acceptance

Kurzfassung

The recent development of new flexible mobility systems represents a promising opportunity for public transport companies to meet current challenges, such as providing mobility for all population groups while remaining profitable. In the context of the research project Reallabor Schorndorf, a user-centered public transport system aiming at spatial and temporal flexibility is being developed, called Quartiersbussystem. However, the users’ valuation of the different factors of flexible mobility systems is not yet known. Since regular-users of public transport might value factors of public transport differently than irregular-users, the primary aim of this paper was to identify the factors and their valuation determining the choice of transport mode for regular-users and irregular-users. By means of a literature review and a focus group (n=9), six factors were identified that are important to the user: fare, travel time, walking distance, information availability, booking period, and shift of departure. A choice-based conjoint analysis was carried out to quantify each factors’ relative importance to the user. In an online questionnaire 24 choice sets were presented to the respondents (n=521), consisting of two alternative mobility systems and an optout option. The travel time was the most relevant factor, followed by information availability and shift of departure. Regular-users deemed low fares more important than irregular-users, whereas short travel times were more important to irregular users. Overall, the present study contributes to our understanding of respondents’ preferences of factors that are inherent to flexible mobility systems, such as the Quartiersbussystem