Passenger Value Research Articles

Evolutionary Game Model of Private Capital Investment in Urban Public Transportation

To address the previous researches’ shortcomings on private capital investment in public transportation, a new private capital investment method in public transportation considering passenger value is proposed. An Evolutionary Game Model (EGM) is constructed to quantify the impacts of private capital investment. Evolutionary Game Theory (EGT) supposes players are bounded rational; therefore EGM is more in accordance with the real situation. Jinan city is detailed as a case study to show how public and private sectors change their strategies. Model results show that the proposed investment strategy is superior to the traditional one and is evolutionary stable, thus the strategy should be encouraged. The EGM established in this paper provides a quantitative analysis tool for administrators and researchers to guide investment strategies of private capital in public transportation and lays the foundation for further research.

Transport Emissions and Energy Consumption Impacts of Private Capital Investment in Public Transport

Introducing private capital into the public transport system for its sustainable development has been increasing around the world. However, previous research ignores emissions and energy consumption impacts, which are important for private capital investment policy-making. To address this problem, the system dynamic (SD) approach was used to quantitatively analyze the cumulative effects of different private capital investment models in public transport from the environmental perspective. The SD model validity was verified in the case study of Jinan public traffic. Simulation results show that the fuel consumption and emission reductions are obvious when the private capital considering passenger value invests in public transport compared with the no private capital investment and traditional investment models. There are obvious cumulative reductions for fuel consumption, CO2, CO, SO2, and PM10 emissions for 100 months compared with no private capital investment. This research verifies the superiority of the passenger value investment model in public transport from the environmental point of view, and supplies a theoretical tool for administrators to evaluate the private capital investment effects systematically.

An analysis of ongoing trends in airline ancillary revenues

This paper examines the performance of the two core classifications of airline ancillary revenues, which are unbundled products and commission based income. It also investigates the willingness of passengers to pay (WTP) for these services together with what type of ancillary items are acceptable at a particular price point. The study found that passengers value a narrow range of perceived ‘necessity’ products and services such as food and drink, checked baggage and seat assignment as opposed to perceived ‘optional’ unbundled or commission based products/services. It also found significant differences in WTP for specific ancillary services based on carrier type (FSC/LCC/Charter), length of flight (long and short haul) and journey purpose (business, leisure, VFR).

Quantifying a Financially Sustainable Strategy of Public Transport: Private Capital Investment Considering Passenger Value

Releaving traffic congestion by developing public transport as an alternative mode of travel is a common practice all over the world. However, the increasing public transport subsidies have created a financial burden for governments. Encouragingly, private capital supplies an opportunity for public transport in sustainable finance. Previous research mainly focuses on qualitative analysis and money-for-value (MFV) analysis. In this paper, a new investment model is proposed based on the concept ‘passenger value’, and a bi-level programming model (BLPM) is constructed as a quantitative analysis tool. The upper target of BLPM is the total surplus (including the value of time (VOT) of passengers) of the public transport system and the upper constraint is the ticket price. The lower target of BLPM is passenger’s surplus, the lower constraints are service capability and the lowest return rate of the private sector. The public transport of Jinan City, China is taken as a case to quantify the impacts of private capital investment in public transport. Results show that the proposed investment model considering passenger value is superior to the traditional one, and effective private capital investment could increase the total societal benefit of the transportation system. The proposed investment strategy satisfies economic viability and is a financially sustainability strategy. Additionally, travelers should be encouraged to use public transport through improving the service quality and passenger returns. Only in this way can the success rate of the private sector investment in public transport be improved efficiently.

Market Segmentation and Development Strategies for Highway Passenger Transport Based on Measurement Model of Passenger Value

AbstractThe passenger value is used to segment the intercity passenger transport market. According to its advantages or disadvantages in each submarket, highway passenger transport (referred to as ...

LDcFR: A new model to determine value of airline passengers

The increasing willingness to travel as well as the increasing number of airlines create a strong competitive market in the air transport industry. In such circumstances, paying attention to the market needs is the prerequisite of the success and profitability of the company. Hence, nowadays, airlines endeavor to provide their customers with appropriate services and incentives to maintain the existing customers and attract new ones. The importance of providing appropriate incentives, on the one hand, and lack of resources, on the other, have led to airlines’ incapacity to provide good services for all of their customers. A logical solution in such a situation is to determine strategies to provide services for customers based on their value. The value model developed in this study is based on a combination of four variables, namely, relationship Length, Frequency, Distance and Recency, which is named LDcFR model. Using these variables along with the imperialist competitive algorithm clustering technique and Markov chain will determine the value of each passenger. The results of the study indicate that the LDcFR model is useful for determining the passenger value.

Robust Gas Turbine and Airframe System Design in Light of Uncertain Fuel and Prices

This paper presents a study that numerically investigated which cruise speed the next generation of short-haul aircraft with 150 seats should fly at, and whether a conventional two- or three-shaft turbofan, a geared turbofan, a turboprop, or an open rotor should be employed to make the aircraft’s direct operating cost robust to uncertain fuel and carbon () prices in the year 2030, taking the aircraft productivity, the passenger value of time, and the modal shift into account. To answer this question, an optimization loop was set up in MATLAB consisting of nine modules covering gas turbine and airframe design and performance, flight and aircraft-fleet simulation, operating cost, and optimization. If the passenger value of time is included, the most robust aircraft design is powered by geared turbofan engines and cruises at Mach 0.80. If the value of time is ignored, however, then a turboprop aircraft flying at Mach 0.70 is the optimum solution. This demonstrates that the most fuel-efficient option, the open rotor, is not automatically the most cost-efficient solution because of the relatively high engine and airframe costs.

Single Till or Dual Till at Airports: A Two-sided Market Analysis

Big airports profits are more and more often coming from commercial activities such as retailing. However, commercial services are relatively far from the original mission of the airport: providing airlines with aviation services such as ground handling, terminal management or airside operations, and being regulated for that because of an obvious dominant position with respect to airlines. For this reason, one can advocate for the separation of the two activities, i.e. for a dual till approach, in which only the aeronautical activity is regulated. We, instead, suggest that a single till regulation, in which the total profit of the airport is examined, is relevant because it allows to take into account the externalities existing between retailing and aeronautical services. Using a two-sided market approach (Armstrong, 2006, Rochet-Tirole 2003, 2006), we show that the airport is a platform which makes the shops and the passengers meet. The retailing activity depends on how many passengers are circulating and connecting at the airport, as well as the time they spent in the airport, while passengers value the least connecting time as possible. We show that the aeronautical tax can be either higher or lower under single till depending on whether the impact of the passengers demand or of the waiting time is the more important for the shops.

Passengers’ valuations of train seating layout, position and occupancy

The layout of seating within train carriages, of which there are numerous possibilities, and also the occupancy of that seating can be expected to impact on passengers’ experiences of a train journey. However, there is very little evidence on how rail passengers value different seating experiences. On the back of exploratory research, and including attitudinal evidence, this paper provides significant and original insights into rail passengers’ preferences in this area. The primary evidence base is a Stated Preference experiment, complemented by a novel Revealed Preference exercise that uses CCTV footage to observe where rail passengers prefer to sit.The valuations, expressed as travel time multipliers, obtained from the Stated Preference exercise are generally plausible and exhibit a wide range according to the precise seating configuration, the occupancy level and the seating position within a layout. The innovative Revealed Preference analysis provides an encouraging degree of support to the Stated Preference results which, reassuringly, can themselves be reconciled with related valuations widely used in the railway industry in Britain and also the findings of the exploratory and attitudinal research. Whilst we are interested here solely in obtaining valuations, we demonstrate how they can be used in demand forecasting.

Bilevel Programming Model of Private Capital Investment in Urban Public Transportation: Case Study of Jinan City

Increasing public transportation subsidies have created fiscal pressures for governments. To ease this financial pressure, Chinese government strongly encourages private capital investment in public transportation. However, previous private capital investments in public transportation operations have largely failed, mainly due to low ticket fares that cannot support sustainable operations. To address this issue, several previous research projects have developed methods to facilitate private capital investment. The majority of the research focuses on qualitative analysis and value for money analysis. Our research proposed a new method of private capital investment in public transportation operations based on the concept of “passenger value.” The feasibility of the proposed method of private investment was analyzed quantitatively by constructing a bilevel programming model. The model was verified based on a sample analysis of Jinan city traffic. Results showed that effective private capital investment increases the total societal benefit from the public transportation system and additionally that the investment method considering “passenger value” is superior to the traditional one. A quantitative tool was provided by the model to evaluate private capital investment effects, design investment policies, and develop further research.

Intercity Passenger Rail Access to Airports

The increased demand for air travel and diminishing airport capacity, coupled with a new role for passenger rail in intercity corridors across the United States, have renewed interest in the development of intermodal connections between airports and intercity passenger rail among transportation planners and policy makers. As a result, there is a need for a better understanding of who might be using such connections and how the connections might support intermodal travel activities. This paper examines the characteristics of passengers using the airport–intercity passenger rail interface at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, airport—one of only four such direct connections currently in existence in the United States. In addition to providing a sustainable alternative to automobile ground access trips to the airport, intercity passenger rail at the Milwaukee airport has expanded the airport's market area well into the Chicago, Illinois, region, approximately 80 mi to the south. The findings indicate that passengers value the convenience and reliability of the service in choosing intercity passenger rail to access the airport. Airport and intercity passenger rail planners are encouraged to consider the findings of this paper in planning activities for future airport–intercity passenger rail interfaces.

Assessing how service quality, airline image and customer value affect the intentions of passengers regarding low cost carriers

This paper uses simple structural equation modelling to investigate relationships between service quality, airline image, customer value and behavioural intentions for passengers to fly on low cost carriers. In particular it focuses on flier’s expectations of the types of services that they can enjoy. The analysis indicates that service quality has a significant positive effect on customer value, airline image and behavioural intentions, but that airline image does not itself significantly influence behavioural intentions.

Collecting public transport passenger preference data online

Passenger preference analysis is an important area of transport modeling. Passengers value public transport journeys in several ways: their opinion depends on many factors. The relative importance of these features is often characteristic to certain passenger groups. Knowing the distribution of the passengers and their preferences makes it possible to improve transport models and simulation techniques. The paper provides an overview of existing revealed and stated preference analysis methods and the results of some former surveys carried out in Győr, Hungary. Then it proposes a new method for detecting passenger preferences by integrating data collection into an online journey planning service.

Network effects, heterogeneous time value and network formation in the airline market

This study examines an airline firm's adoption of a hub–spoke network or a point-to-point network when considering network effects from the demand side and the heterogeneity of passengers' time value. The results of this study reveal the following: If the time value for leisure passengers is sufficiently small and the operating cost is medium or when the time value for leisure passengers is high and operating cost is small, the monopoly airline adopts a hub–spoke network. Otherwise, a point-to-point network is adopted. Moreover, even when the airline chooses a point-to-point network, business passengers might move via another city according to second-degree price discrimination.

Investigating structural relationships between service quality, perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions for air passengers: Evidence from Taiwan

This study aims to investigate the relationships between service quality, perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions for air passengers through a structural equation model (SEM). The main study’s results are as follows. Service expectation has a significantly positive effect on perceived performance, but not on perceived value and satisfaction. Perceived performance has a significantly positive effect on perceived value, but not on satisfaction. Perceived value has a significantly positive effect on satisfaction. Both perceived value and satisfaction have significantly positive effects on behavioral intentions. In addition, perceived performance reveals the indirect effect on satisfaction moderated by perceived value. Finally, perceived value reveals a larger effect than overall satisfaction on behavioral intentions. Specific theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Managing valuable Taiwanese airline passengers using knowledge discovery in database techniques

Taiwanese domestic airline passenger loads have declined over the past decade, and the inauguration of the Taiwan high-speed rail service in 2007 has further intensified the competition facing the airlines. Gaining and retaining valuable passengers thus has become essential in maintaining domestic airline profits in the increasingly competitive transportation market. This study develops a knowledge discovery in database process, including the recency, frequency, and monetary model and the C5.0 decision tree. The former is used to assess passenger value, while C5.0 is used to mine demographic, travel behavior, and critical service quality information for valuable passengers. The results identify valuable passenger characteristics that can help Taiwanese airlines maximize their number and retention.

Collaboration in the airport business through the development of an IT platform

The aim of the paper is to investigate the main changes and the perception of the importance of collaboration within the airport industry. More specifically through a ‘star scheme’, relationships between airports, local and national stakeholders are analysed and a Travel Information-based Exchange (TIE) platform that manages cooperation among several stakeholders and customers is presented. Collaboration in this way can be interpreted as core competence and a resource for creating a common strategy, achieving a competitive advantage and creating value for companies and passengers. The potential for a TIE is examined for a case study in central Italy.

Protest Responses in Contingent Valuation Method for Coral Reefs in Kerama Islands

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the value of the coral reefs in the Kerama Islands in Okinawa and to clarify the reasons for biases in the responses to the questionnaires. This research was conducted at Zamami village in March 2003, and the respondents to the questionnaires were passengers on ships between Naha and Zamami. The questionnaire is based on “Contingent Valuation Method” (CVM), which is used to evaluate the non-used value of the environment. In this questionnaire, we used the “double-bounded two-choice approach” in order to determine the passengers' willingness to pay (WTP) for the conservation of Kerama's coral reefs.Coral reefs are very important resources for ecology and the economy, especially in island areas like Okinawa. They have several public functions that provide material and spiritual benefits to human beings with regard to fisheries, ocean biodiversity value, purification of the ocean, underwater views, coastal protection, resources for tourism and recreation and so on. Recently, however, the drastic changes in certain environmental conditions have caused considerable damage to the coral reefs. We should recognize the necessity of protecting the coral reefs in order to retain their public functions; hence, we attempted to define the value of conservation of the Kerama coral reefs.First, we estimated the passengers' WTP for the conservation of the Kerama coral reefs, using the Turnbull method, which is a type of survival analysis. The results revealed that the average WTP per person was 3, 995 yen, and the total value for the annual passengers traveling to Zamami village was 367, 488, 065 yen per year.Second, we considered protest responses in order to assess the reliability of CVM as a method of evaluating environmental value. A total of 94 protest responses were obtained in this research, and we analyzed the reasons for which the respondents expressed objections to the scenario presented in this questionnaire. We clarified four factors: The method of payment, the taxable, the area of conservation, and the misunderstanding of the scenario presented. Closely performing a pre-test can solve some of these problems.While CVM is one of the small-number methods that can measure the non-used value of the environment, such as biodiversity conservation, its results are debatable due to its hypothetical character. Therefore, we will continue to examine the reliability of CVM by repeating this research.

Transit User Perceptions of the Benefits of Automatic Vehicle Location

An attitudinal survey on transit riders’ perception of the importance transit users place on features of an automatic vehicle location (AVL) system is reported. Onboard surveys and on-time field checks were conducted in the cities of Manitowoc and Racine, Wisconsin, to determine how users in those cities perceive their transit systems and how well each transit system performs. The surveys indicate that transit riders put a great value on increased on-time performance and improved schedule reliability. Passengers value features that AVL technology could bring, such as improving on-time performance, knowing when the next bus will arrive, knowing how long the delay is in case of delay, and knowing that another bus could be dispatched in case of breakdown. The surveys indicate that AVL technology could improve transit services and add value to passengers. The survey also found the expected ridership increase resulting from the AVL technology to be moderate. On-time performance surveys conducted in each city indicate that transit services in these communities generally operate on time at the route level. Although there are bigger variations at the timepoint level, transit services are usually on time. The implementation of AVL could further improve on-time performance, but maybe only marginally.

General Aviation User Benefits

A user benefits economic impact model of general aviation (GA) travel is developed using data for five publicly owned airports in North Carolina. A 1994 survey of GA users concerning flight origins, destinations, intermediate stops, and local expenditures is geographically represented with TransCAD 3.0, a geographic information system. Minimum-time road paths for these flights are also computed. User costs including passenger value of time, local ground transportation, overnight costs, and expenditures for crew and passengers are then estimated, and costs and travel times for the two modes are calculated for each airport. Findings are compared with the traditional jobs-based method of estimating airport impacts. Results indicate that as the passenger value of time increases, travel using the general aviation mode becomes more advantageous than is automobile travel. In addition, as the trip length increases, more time spent in traveling induces overnight stays and thus travel expenses rise considerably. However, uncertainty in user expenditures is large (±20 to 40 percent) for typical values of the key inputs. The study concludes that although the user benefits method of estimating aviation impacts is promising, more research is needed to refine the method for use in practice.