Measuring willingness to pay for bus rapid transit in Cairo

Abstract

Cairo's Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT) is a mode of transport recently proposed to provide a different approach to solving the city's transportation issues. The passenger's choice of transportation mode is thought to be significantly influenced by the cost of the trip. Willingness to pay (WTP) can guide authorities in structuring new public transportation and setting an appropriate fare structure policy. Data for this study was gathered through interviews with 250 passengers who were surveyed. The data collected is in the form of respondents’ characteristics, travel characteristics, and pay perception. This study focuses on a progressive willingness to pay system for different levels of improvement in comfort and travel time. According to the findings of the study, the average value of willingness to pay is 30 Egyptian pounds per passenger, which has the potential to increase the ministry of transportation's revenue on the Ring Road by 40%. The trip characteristics show that passengers prefer reducing trip time, the presence of private car parking (park and ride facilities), reducing the waiting time, then the ticket price, and the availability of complementary transportation services. When comparing countries with BRT systems, Cairo's BRT system is among the longest in the world. The proposed ticket price is considered the average for the BRT systems.