Public Transport Market Research Articles

Analyzing the impacts on passenger yield of incumbent companies after the entry of a new company into the aviation market: The case of Brazil

The public air transport market is generally oligopolistic, meaning that the market strategies of some companies can influence the decisions of rivals and impact consumer prices. This sector has been marked by a large flow of airline entries and exits. Considering this scenario, the objective of this work is to evaluate how the revenue from airline tickets of incumbent companies in the national aviation market in Brazil was impacted after the entry of a new company. A fixed-effects Difference-in-Differences model (DID) using a feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) estimator with panel data is used to assess this impact. To assess the impact of the entrant on yield dispersion, we apply the regression equation to P90 and P10 of the distribution. We also applied the equation, considering the Gini coefficient as the dependent variable. The results showed that the average income of incumbent companies reduced by an estimated magnitude of 5.9% in the period after the new company entered the market. Our findings also indicate an increase in distribution dispersion in the period following market entry, with a more pronounced reduction of 19% in the P10 and 1.5% in the P90. We conclude that the entry of the new company was readily assimilated by the incumbents, so that the competitive effect can explain the identified reduction in average income. The entry of a new competitor was especially beneficial to consumers in the lower tail of the distribution.

A consumer surplus, welfare and profit enhancing strategy for improving urban public transport networks

We show that a novel pricing system can help resolve a series of perennial problems evident in the deregulated British urban public transport market that have impeded urban growth, access equality and environmental ambitions. A two-stage pricing system, with operators setting their multi-operator service ticket prices collusively in one stage and their single-operator ticket prices independently in the other, offers potential consumer surplus, profit and welfare gains over, what we characterise as, the free-market ‘Status Quo’. The proposed win–win pricing system can also support a larger number of operators and services with potential additional welfare gains. We also compare the proposed system against a multi-operator ticketing card (MTC) scheme, permitted in the UK under the Block Exemption. The Block Exemption allows collusive pricing on a limited basis but is due to expire and is under statutory review, making this is a timely contribution. We show, whilst the MTC offers higher welfare when all regimes provide the same number of services, the proposed system can support a larger number of operators in the presence of fixed costs, which can reverse the welfare ranking in its favour. A calibration exercise indicates the market may be operating in the region where the proposed system can dominate the ‘Status Quo’ in profit, consumer surplus and welfare terms and support a larger network than the ‘Status Quo’ or MTC with further welfare gains. The resulting higher public transport patronage may also offer further indirect benefits via reduced pollution, congestion and accidents. Improved transport efficiency may have urban density advantages, especially in Britain’s second-tier cities which do not tend to benefit from extensive public transit rail and underground networks, with associated agglomeration effects contributing to the current levelling-up priority. Given the salience amongst developed countries of the private aspect of urban public transport in Britain, along with an unresolved private vs public debate, this issue is of potential interest to urban planners and policymakers beyond the UK.

The road to electrification: Bus fleet replacement strategies

The public transport market in most global cities is dominated by diesel buses, which can have significant adverse impacts on the environment and human health. To reach carbon neutrality, many public transport operators are attempting to replace their existing bus fleets with electric buses (EBs). This paper develops a generic bus replacement model to help public transit (PT) operators progressively renew their existing bus fleets so as to reach particular electrification goals within a given planning horizon. Unlike existing studies, our model more comprehensively considers the external costs, which include external climate costs, external health costs and used battery recycling costs/profits. Furthermore, by incorporating different incentives, variants on the model can be adopted to investigate how different government incentives can affect the replacement behaviors of PT operators. Finally, our proposed approach is applied to real-world data from a bus operator in Singapore which is aiming to achieve a 100% cleaner energy bus fleet within 20 years. The experiments indicate that an EB subsidy can effectively accelerate the electrification process, and a 25% EB subsidy could achieve full electrification eight years earlier than if no EB subsidy were applied. Moreover, we explore how the diesel tax and diesel bus (DB) tax affect EB replacement. Our experiments suggest a 10% diesel tax rate can achieve good results but imposing a DB tax will not encourage PT operators to purchase EBs earlier.

Transitioning to Electric Mobility: Low Hanging Fruits in the Two and Three-Wheeler Public Transport Market in Kenya

Transitioning to Electric Mobility: Low Hanging Fruits in the Two and Three-Wheeler Public Transport Market in Kenya

Identifying the parameters influencing the adoption of electric intermediate public transport: a case area of Gwalior city

The emission from transportation sectors is identified to contribute to air pollution and the same has brought electric mobility as an emerging solution to the problem. Electric mobility has yet to become a mainstream option for India’s vast population in terms of transportation, making it critical to understand people’s attitudes and preferences in choosing Electric Vehicles (EVs) over the convention once. Therefore, to understand the perceptions and factors which influence the adoption, a study is conducted in the area of Gwalior City. Some of the most influencing factors were selected from the literature study. And then a questionnaire was designed, where Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) operators were asked to choose on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 is highly important 5 beings I don’t know situations). Top influential factors like Purchase cost, Operation, and maintenance cost (O&M cost) were getting in this article, Vehicle capacity and battery swapping facility were found as the main influencing factors for Electric Vehicle adoption. A discrete choice model is used to generate utility equations. This was done for two operators of Intermediate Public Transport in Gwalior which are 4-Seater and 8-Seater respectively. Binomial regression analysis gave the utility values of selected factors, which the operators consider before adopting the Electric Vehicle. The results of the research will be helpful in understanding operators/drivers of Intermediate Public Transport, especially in the Intermediate Public Transport market. Results will help planners and policymakers to make sound decisions.

The Spatial Mobility Trap? How Urban Contexts Shape the Spatial Mobility of Male Undocumented Youths

Some scholars have argued urban autonomy creates inclusive spaces for migrants, while others have argued interiorized border security and discriminatory policing constrain racialized migrants. This article examines the extent to which the urban context represents a spatial mobility trap for urban undocumented youths as they become adults, based on data from longitudinal comparative ethnography with undocumented youths, schools, and civil society actors in Paris and New York City. Public schools, public transportation, policing, and informal labor market practices distinguish the urban regimes of migrant il/legality in the two cities, shaping how such youths move within and outside urban space. These elements may magnify or mitigate legal‐status distinctions between undocumented youths and others. As protections for undocumented minors waned at adulthood, New York City's regime blurred legal‐status distinctions, accelerating intracity mobility for most youths while Paris's approach brightened such distinctions, limiting mobility. These findings contribute a spatial mobility perspective to studies of migrant illegality and an urban sociology perspective to the transition to adulthood.

Modeling Participation and Consumption in the Greek Interurban Public Transportation Market

This article investigates the Greek household travel demand for domestic interurban public transportation using cross-sectional micro-data from a countrywide Household Budget Survey. A number of limited dependent variable models, including the Heckit, Two-Part, and Double-Hurdle models, are implemented to jointly estimate the probability of selecting a specific mode and the amount of using it. The results provide useful insight into the existence of feedback relationships between the decision-making mechanisms of mode selection and amount of usage, and they demonstrate the predominant effect of income on the demand for coaches, railways, airplanes, and coast-wise sea ferries.

Modelling quality of service in a fixed route shared taxi (Jitney)

Service providers must understand customers’ preferences to improve public transportation market share. Indeed, most public transportation customer satisfaction literature has focused on developed countries, and there are considerable differences between the available modes and the expectations of public transportation users in developed and developing countries. Therefore, this study aims to assess service quality indicators and their impact on users' satisfaction in a shared taxi mode. In particular, the study focuses on Taxi Khattee (TK) in Iran, which runs on fixed routes without a fixed schedule, and its fleet is mainly comprised of sedan cars owned by multiple entities. TK carries about 13% of daily trips in the city of Tehran. An intercept paper and pencil survey was conducted, including 45 questions, 22 of which were related to passengers’ satisfaction and service quality. A Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique is utilized to model the perceived service quality and the contributing factors. The proposed model has 14 (observed) service attributes and five exogenous latent variables: Comfort, Safety and Security, Serviceability, Customer Service, and Information. Also, a second-order latent structure was used to describe the relationship between service quality and passenger satisfaction (modelled as an endogenous latent variable). The results show that the most important observed variables leading to customer satisfaction are the variables related to Comfort, such as onboard cleanliness and vehicle apparatus functionality, followed by onboard safety. These results demonstrate the difference between the TK mode to the previous research on the bus, train, and ferry modes in which service attributes such as travel time and punctuality were the most important factors. Also, the results indicate the absence of any significant impact of users’ socio-economic and demographic characteristics or their trip characteristics on the level of satisfaction.

Fare discounts and free fares in long-distance public transport in central Europe

Free fare transport schemes have been increasingly used in different parts of the world. They are utilized not only to stimulate public transport market share, but also to promote transport equity and justice. The application of these policies has emerged recently in two countries in Central Europe. The authorities in Slovakia and the Czech Republic have introduced generous fare discount policies for long-distance transport. Slovakia has introduced 100% fare discounts for children, students, and pensioners for railways from November 2014. The Czech Republic has introduced 75% discounts for children, students, and pensioners for both trains and buses from September 2018. These schemes are unique in their wide coverage and their application to long-distance transport. These policies were motivated by the mix of social, transport, and political considerations, but the social goals dominated. The aim of this article is to review and analyse ridership and development of modal shares after these policies were introduced. The major results of the analysis are the following: The policies significantly increased ridership and the modal share of railways went up significantly. The mobility of the targeted groups was significantly affected and the share of young and elderly riders increased. However, the policies were costly and also had some undesirable side effects that could have been prevented by better policy design.

Passenger transport in Israel - current state and related problems

This article studies economics of contemporary passenger transport market in Israel. Three key problem areas have been identified: private cars demand, supply of transport infrastructure and public transport market. Analysis of private cars market has shown that private cars are perceived as the main mode of transportation by today’s Israelis. Due to acute transport congestion issues Israeli government aims to reduce the demand for cars by introducing extremely high taxes on car purchase and maintenance. International comparative analysis has revealed the issue of transport infrastructure deficit in Israel. Relatively low level of motorization in Israel and a stable trend for increase of number of private cars per kilometer of roads are highlighted. Together with transport infrastructure deficit this implies higher likelihood of deterioration of transport congestion issues in the future which will negatively affect Israeli economy. Analysis of public transport markets has revealed some positive effects following the increase in competition in bus transit markets introduced by Israeli public transport reform in 1990s. These include increase in output, quality, and efficiency of bus companies. The reform has also led to revitalization of railroad passenger transport in Israel, making trains a feasible alternative for buses. On the other hand, some potential issues have been outlined, such as relatively low level of railroad-passenger kilometers per capita and relatively highly centralized system of transport planning in Israel. The study concludes with underlining complementarity and interconnectivity between the three areas of Israeli passenger transport, thus stressing the importance of integrated approach to passenger transport economics analysis.

Analysis of the current state and prospects for public electric transport development in Russia (on the example of electric buses)

The article considers current problems and prospects of public electric transport development in the aspect of electric buses. Modern realities dictate new trends in transport infrastructure, namely the replacement of the usual buses with internal combustion engines that use combustible fuel with a more profitable mode of transport powered by an environmentally friendly and renewable resource, electricity. Such vehicles are electric buses, which are rapidly becoming a part of passengers’ lives. This fuel-free transport enables large numbers of people to travel quietly in megacities, while minimising pollution. The rapid introduction of electric buses around the world is making it possible to replace aging buses with internal combustion engines and clean up the environment with electric motors, but this cannot be done quickly due to the high cost and poor infrastructure in many cities around the world. Factors limiting the development of electric buses are identified, and possible solutions are described. Government investments and projects provide an economic solution to the problem. An analysis of the public electric transport market is carried out and prospects for the development of electric buses in Russia are formulated. Widespread introduction of electric buses in megacities will significantly reduce environmental costs for the population.

Is taxation being effectively used to promote public transport in Europe?

Public transport is a pivotal utility in increasing the long-term sustainability of cities. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in promoting a sustainable modal shift that reduces dependence on private vehicle use. This strategy has involved several specific actions, among them employing price differentiation between the two substitutes considered in this research – public transport and private cars. Governments can influence fares in different ways. However, fiscal policy governing applicable taxes is one that is often neglected in the literature. This paper investigates the relationship between the market share of public transport and taxation – in particular, value added tax (VAT), which is levied on three main products: public transport fares, fuel, and vehicle ownership. The results show that taxes matter, but not all taxes are determinant. A lower VAT rate on public transport fares and a higher tax rate on vehicle ownership can lead to an increase in public transport's market share. Taxing car utilization through VAT on fuel does appear to be significant.

The impact of emergent public health events on passengers' public transport dependence

IntroductionThe optimization of public transport (PT) systems to ameliorate urban traffic problems and living environment requires a deep understanding of PT usage behaviour. However, there is a lack of scientific measurement of the influence on passengers’ PT dependence (PTD) during emergent public health events. MethodsAn extended theory of planned behaviour and an online survey scheme are proposed to investigate the influence of psychological and objective factors on passengers’ PTD under an emergent public health event in Beijing, China. Then, four structural equation models are estimated to analyse the PTD influence mechanism of different groups of passengers. ResultsThe objective condition factors exert indirect effects on passengers' PTD via the psychological factors. Individual attributes have small influences on passengers' PTD, while the environment has a significant positive effect. Subjective norms have the highest influencing effect on passengers’ PTD, and passengers with a relatively high PTD level have the risk of shifting to other transportation modes under the emergent public health events. ConclusionsThe influence mechanism of emergency public health events on the PT dependence of different passengers is heterogeneous. The targeted policies should be implemented for different passengers to improve the PT market share and residents' health under emergent public health events.

Market-Segmentation Study of Future and Potential Users of the New Réseau Express Métropolitain Light Rail in Montreal, Canada

Goals for public transit agencies and new public transport infrastructure projects include attracting new riders and retaining existing system users. An understanding of the public transport market and its preferences, habits, and attitudes can help public transit agencies reach these goals by shedding light on how to increase customer satisfaction. To understand potential users of one of Montreal’s most recent major transport projects, the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), we conducted a survey in Fall 2019 while the light-rail system was under construction. Drawing on vetted transport market-segmentation frameworks, this study employs an exploratory factor analysis to reveal factors that affect respondents’ propensity to use the REM. A k-means cluster test is applied to the factors to articulate market segments. The analysis returned four clusters that form a clear spectrum of least likely to most likely REM users: car-friendly non-users, urban core potential users, transit-friendly users, and leisure and airport users. Positive opinion, proximity, and desire to use the REM for leisure or non-work trips are three key characteristics of likely users. There is a visible relationship between clusters who are likely to use the REM and clusters who agree that the REM will benefit their neighborhood. Improving people’s perception of the potential benefit of the REM to their neighborhood, better accommodating leisure use, emphasizing and communicating appealing destinations, and highlighting transit connections are four core ways that planners could work to potentially increase the number of people who are likely to use the REM.

Multimodal pricing model in a deficit public transport market: Implication of informal transport

This article explores one of the most important segments of public transport in developing countries, namely informal transport and its relation to the pricing system of public transport. This paper is an extension of the work of Tirachini, A. and Hensher, D.A., who have developed a model to analyze the impact of non-motorized transport on an optimal public transport pricing policy. We are looking at three congested modes of transportation, and we introduce informal transport as an independent mode of transport instead of non-motorized transport in this analysis. Informal transport has never been incorporated into an intercity transport pricing analysis and this is the first one that informal transport has been considered an autonomous mode in a pricing model. We tried to show how the pricing policy would change by considering or ignoring the Informal Transport. We propose three congested modes (Public transport, particular vehicular and informal transport) pricing model that incorporates informal transport and reconstruct the impact of a capacity constraint on optimal public transport prices. Pricing model were developed explaining the first best and second best prices and the changes effects of capacities and frequency of public transport bus.

Model of competition in the public transport market on the example of Israel

Model of competition in the public transport market on the example of Israel

Innovation in Rail Passenger Transport as a Basis for the Safety of Public Passenger Transport

Rail passenger transport as the only mode of transport has the preconditions to form the essential axis of the integrated transport system and thus the basic framework of sustainable public passenger transport. In order to meet the preconditions, rail passenger transport must focus on research and innovation in the coming decades. Research and innovation must focus on these key areas: digitalisation and cost-effectiveness, automation of the railway system and Artificial Intelligence, sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions, intelligent RTV lifecycle management and enhancing RTV operability, integrating railways into the DOOR-TO- DOOR system (increasing the availability of rail transport services to customers) and security and protection (increasing customer safety and asset protection). Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko, a.s., the national operator and the leader on the public transport market, aims at becoming a leader in research and innovation. ZSSK is currently implementing a number of projects related to these key areas. Within its strategy until 2030, ZSSK plans further activities in the key areas of research and development. The essential condition is the state support in the form of realization of the approved Strategic Transport Development Plan of the Slovak Republic until 2030 and elimination of the investment debt in the railway infrastructure and in the renewal and maintenance of RTV.

Optimal Parameters of Service in a Public Transportation Market with Pricing

The problem of choosing the optimal parameters of service by carriers in public transport passenger flows is considered. This problem is modeled as a two-stage game. At the first stage, the players (carriers) select the parameters of their service (the number and schedule of vehicles, etc.). At the second stage, the players announce the prices of service and the consumers choose an appropriate service. The Wardrop equilibrium is applied to the competition model with rational consumers preferring the carriers with minimum cost, where the cost of service includes the price and also the expected trip time. The equilibrium in the pricing game is found and the optimal parameters of service as a solution to a noncooperative game are determined. Some results of computer simulations are presented.

Selected Aspects of the Functioning of Public Transport in Poland in the Light of Legal Conditions

The article presents basic assumptions related to the organization and functioning of the public transport market. The specificity of the market results in a higher degree of formalization of operating principles than commercial markets. Services of general interest of public transport result from the obligation to meet the needs of local communities related to shipments. Three basic entities: organizers, operators and carriers are responsible for the organization and functioning of the public transport market. The rights and obligations of these entities are governed by both national and EU law.

Relative Accessibility of District Centres in Slovakia by Public Transport in 2003 and 2017

Transformation of the transport system in Slovakia after 1989 has influenced the pattern of public transport. This article focuses on the analysis of public transport accessibility in district centres in Slovakia. The results show a decrease of connectivity in the network of direct bus and train connections and also a decrease in the number of direct connections between district centres in Slovakia in the period from 2003 to 2017. The main factors that have caused these changes include growing motorisation and individual automobile transport, zero-fare trains for selected categories of inhabitants since 2014, the construction of the motorway network, and the liberalisation of the public transport market.