Citizens’ opinion about investment in public transport projects in cities

Abstract

In recent times, the increasing demand for mobility has given rise to new projects for improved public transport (PT) infrastructures. Such is the case of Andalucía (Spain) where, since 2004, the transit networks were improved and new underground and light rail systems were built. These investments were made without taking into account the opinion of the citizens. In this context, this paper expounds the results of a telephone survey conducted in 2015 to record citizens’ opinions about the investment funneled into local transport infrastructures. The responses were analyzed through decision trees, in order to identify groups of homogeneous characteristics and common opinion. The results indicate that most citizens believed investment to have been insufficient, even though nearly half the respondents affirmed the PT infrastructures in their city were adequate. The results of the two majority opinion groups showed that: when citizens believe the PT infrastructures of their city are not adequate, and they are not satisfied with key attributes of the PT, they hold investment to be insufficient; in contrast, if citizens describe the PT infrastructure as adequate, they appraise key aspects and support the use of public funding for financing the PT, then they are satisfied with the investment made. Furthermore, some decision rules, and the most influential variables in the study problem (PT infrastructures adequacy, coverage, being a suburban bus user or not, and the support to use public funding for PT) were identified.