Grison, Burkhardt and Gyselinck – HOW DO USERS CHOOSE THEIR ROUTES IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT 2017

Description

This study examined how public transport (PT) users choose routes to encourage PT use in large cities. Drawing on decision-making theories and a classical choice paradigm, researchers presented 60 PT users with realistic forced choices between two routes that differed in affective (physical comfort) and instrumental (number of transport modes) attributes. Decision context (trip length, purpose such as work or leisure) and individual characteristics (age, sex, attitudes toward PT, habits) were varied and recorded. Key findings show that comfort is generally prioritized over minimizing the number of transport modes, particularly for long trips. Choice between a more comfortable route and one with fewer transfers depends on user characteristics; trip length and habitual behavior emerged as the most influential factors, with attitudes also playing a significant role. The results advance understanding of multi-attribute PT choice processes and offer insights for improving route-planning tools in large cities.