McKenzie – INFORMATION PROVISION AND PASSENGER WAITING TIMES 1986

Description

This Transport Studies Unit paper reports bus-stop interviews (n=1,832) in Aberdeen, Oxford and the West Midlands (1985–86) to assess passenger knowledge of scheduled bus times and the potential for timetable information to reduce waiting times. Only about one-third of passengers claimed knowledge of scheduled arrival times (23% Aberdeen, 45% Oxford, 37% W. Midlands). Stated scheduled times showed modest average errors (~1.2 minutes) and passengers generally expected buses to be late. Paradoxically, those who knew scheduled times tended to wait longer on average, largely because users of low-frequency services are both more likely to know schedules and to arrive early to avoid missing a rare bus or because fixed activities force waiting. A hypothetical scenario where all passengers had perfect timetable knowledge suggests limited aggregate travel-time savings: many travellers consider such knowledge unnecessary, operational variability often makes schedules unreliable (about 47% saw a bus before its scheduled time), and some waits are unavoidable. Conclusion: schedule information could help some low-frequency users but would yield only modest overall efficiency gains.