Rush Hour Avoidance in Swiss Public Transport: An Empirical Analysis of Travel Cards with Different Rush Hour Access Options

Maione, Salvatore and Schiestel, Lisa Maria and Hofstetter, Reto (2018) Rush Hour Avoidance in Swiss Public Transport: An Empirical Analysis of Travel Cards with Different Rush Hour Access Options. In: Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting, 7-11 Jan 2018, Washington DC, United States.

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Abstract

Overcrowded trains during rush hour is a well-known problem of public transportation. Incentives for shifting travel time to reduce congestion for car commuters in the US and the Netherlands or for Subway commuters in Beijing have shown some success. Although mobility pricing has worked in these examples, it is not clear if it can be applied in the context of Swiss public transport. Swiss travelers are used to a highly efficient and flexible public transport system and may not be willing to accept limitations to this flexibility. This research investigates whether Swiss travelers would accept travel cards that restrict traveling during rush hour for a reduced price. It measured travel card preferences of a sample of 504 Swiss-German travelers and analyzed the data using a discrete choice approach. Results show that travelers, in general, have a very strong preference for unlimited access to the rush hour. Time constraints could explain this result. Travelers simply cannot deviate from the rush hour in a meaningful way and this tendency is exacerbated for commuters. Although not representing a large traveler segment, some leisure travelers such as pensioners and non-commuters would be fine with limited rush hour access. Among the different variations of limited travel cards that could be offered, travelers do value the number of times they can access the rush hour and how long the duration of the rush hour is defined.

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