Crowding in public transport systems: Effects on users, operation and implications for the estimation of demand

Tirachini, A; Hensher, DA; Rose, JM

Crowding in public transport systems: Effects on users, operation and implications for the estimation of demand

Tirachini, A Hensher, DA Rose, JM

Permalink

Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2013, 53 pp. 36 - 52
Issue Date:: 2013-07-01

Closed Access

	Filename	Description	Size
	1-s2.0-S0965856413001146-main.pdf	Published Version	1.76 MB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Closed Access

This item is closed access and not available.

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Tirachini, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Hensher, DA	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Rose, JM	en_US
dc.date.issued	2013-07-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2013, 53 pp. 36 - 52	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0965-8564	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/117250
dc.description.abstract	The effects of high passenger density at bus stops, at rail stations, inside buses and trains are diverse. This paper examines the multiple dimensions of passenger crowding related to public transport demand, supply and operations, including effects on operating speed, waiting time, travel time reliability, passengers' wellbeing, valuation of waiting and in-vehicle time savings, route and bus choice, and optimal levels of frequency, vehicle size and fare. Secondly, crowding externalities are estimated for rail and bus services in Sydney, in order to show the impact of crowding on the estimated value of in-vehicle time savings and demand prediction. Using Multinomial Logit (MNL) and Error Components (EC) models, we show that alternative assumptions concerning the threshold load factor that triggers a crowding externality effect do have an influence on the value of travel time (VTTS) for low occupancy levels (all passengers sitting); however, for high occupancy levels, alternative crowding models estimate similar VTTS. Importantly, if demand for a public transport service is estimated without explicit consideration of crowding as a source of disutility for passengers, demand will be overestimated if the service is designed to have a number of standees beyond a threshold, as analytically shown using a MNL choice model. More research is needed to explore if these findings hold with more complex choice models and in other contexts. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.tra.2013.06.005	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Logistics & Transportation	en_US
dc.title	Crowding in public transport systems: Effects on users, operation and implications for the estimation of demand	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	53	en_US
utslib.for	1507 Transportation and Freight Services	en_US
utslib.for	0102 Applied Mathematics	en_US
utslib.for	1205 Urban and Regional Planning	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - BIDA - Business Intelligence and Data Analytics
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	53	en_US

Abstract:

The effects of high passenger density at bus stops, at rail stations, inside buses and trains are diverse. This paper examines the multiple dimensions of passenger crowding related to public transport demand, supply and operations, including effects on operating speed, waiting time, travel time reliability, passengers' wellbeing, valuation of waiting and in-vehicle time savings, route and bus choice, and optimal levels of frequency, vehicle size and fare. Secondly, crowding externalities are estimated for rail and bus services in Sydney, in order to show the impact of crowding on the estimated value of in-vehicle time savings and demand prediction. Using Multinomial Logit (MNL) and Error Components (EC) models, we show that alternative assumptions concerning the threshold load factor that triggers a crowding externality effect do have an influence on the value of travel time (VTTS) for low occupancy levels (all passengers sitting); however, for high occupancy levels, alternative crowding models estimate similar VTTS. Importantly, if demand for a public transport service is estimated without explicit consideration of crowding as a source of disutility for passengers, demand will be overestimated if the service is designed to have a number of standees beyond a threshold, as analytically shown using a MNL choice model. More research is needed to explore if these findings hold with more complex choice models and in other contexts. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/117250