Importance of traveler attitudes in the choice of public transportation to work: findings from the Regional Transportation Authority Attitudinal Survey

Yasasvi Popuri, Kimon Proussaloglou, Cemal Ayvalik, Frank Koppelman, Aimee Lee, 2011, in Transportation

doi:10.1007/s11116-011-9336-y
Location Northeastern Illinois
Population Other (specify)
Sample size 868
Factor analysis type principal components, varimax rotation
Stepwise regression no
Removal of insignificant variables no
Reviewed by SH

Abstract

The commute mode choice decision is one of the most fundamental aspects of daily travel. Although initial research in this area was limited to explaining mode choice behavior as a function of traveler socioeconomics, travel times, and costs, subsequent studies have included the effect of traveler attitudes and perceptions. This paper extends the existing body of literature by examining public transit choice in the Chicago area. Data from a recent Attitudinal Survey conducted by the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) in Northeastern Illinois were used to pursue three major steps. First, a factor analysis methodology was used to condense scores on 23 statements related to daily travel into six factors. Second, the factor scores on these six dimensions were used in conjunction with traveler socioeconomics, travel times, and costs to estimate a binary logistic regression of public transit choice. Third, elasticities of transit choice to the six factors were computed, and the factors were ranked in decreasing order of these elasticities. The analysis provided two major findings. First, from a statistical standpoint, the attitudinal factors improved the intuitiveness and goodness-of-fit of the model. Second, from a policy standpoint, the analysis indicated the importance of word-of-mouth publicity in attracting new riders, as well as the need for a marketing message that emphasizes the lower stress level and better commute time productivity due to transit use. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Factors

Variable Pattern loading
Riding transit is more reliable than driving during bad weather (Convenience) 0.11
Improving transit is as good a use of tax dollars as improving roads (Transport policy) -0.04
Riding transit is less stressful than driving on congested highways (Comfort) 0.11
If it would save time, I would change my form of travel (Convenience) 0
More than saving time, I prefer to be productive when traveling (Convenience) 0.09
Predictable travel time is more important than a faster trip (Convenience) 0.33
Privacy is important to me when I travel (Comfort) 0.06
It is important to be able to control heat and air conditioning when I travel (Comfort) -0.08
Regardless of cost, I choose the fastest way to travel (Cost) -0.14
To avoid highway congestion, I leave earlier or later than usual (Convenience) 0.26
As long as I am comfortable, I can tolerate delays (Comfort) -0.21
When I drive, I worry about getting into an accident (Safety) -0.12
I often need to change my daily travel plans at a moment's notice (Convenience) 0.02
During the day, I often make trips to a wide variety of locations (Convenience) 0.06
I often make a lot of stops along the way to work/school (Convenience) -0.17
I don't mind transferring between buses and trains (Convenience) 0.19
I am willing to walk a few minutes to get to and from transit (Convenience) 0.13
My family and friends typically use public transportation (Social norms) 0.66
I am the kind of person who rides transit (Mode-liking) 0.58
The fastest way to get to work/school is driving (Convenience) -0.42
Increasing fares is necessary to avoid any cuts in transit service (Transport policy) -0.61
I feel safe walking near my work/school location (Safety) 0.02
I feel safe on a bus or train (Safety) -0.01
Variable Pattern loading
Riding transit is more reliable than driving during bad weather (Convenience) 0.08
Improving transit is as good a use of tax dollars as improving roads (Transport policy) -0.12
Riding transit is less stressful than driving on congested highways (Comfort) 0.04
If it would save time, I would change my form of travel (Convenience) 0.04
More than saving time, I prefer to be productive when traveling (Convenience) 0.31
Predictable travel time is more important than a faster trip (Convenience) 0.05
Privacy is important to me when I travel (Comfort) 0.02
It is important to be able to control heat and air conditioning when I travel (Comfort) -0.03
Regardless of cost, I choose the fastest way to travel (Cost) 0.14
To avoid highway congestion, I leave earlier or later than usual (Convenience) 0.11
As long as I am comfortable, I can tolerate delays (Comfort) -0.09
When I drive, I worry about getting into an accident (Safety) 0.04
I often need to change my daily travel plans at a moment's notice (Convenience) 0.86
During the day, I often make trips to a wide variety of locations (Convenience) 0.81
I often make a lot of stops along the way to work/school (Convenience) 0.73
I don't mind transferring between buses and trains (Convenience) -0.02
I am willing to walk a few minutes to get to and from transit (Convenience) 0.12
My family and friends typically use public transportation (Social norms) -0.06
I am the kind of person who rides transit (Mode-liking) 0.04
The fastest way to get to work/school is driving (Convenience) 0.06
Increasing fares is necessary to avoid any cuts in transit service (Transport policy) 0.02
I feel safe walking near my work/school location (Safety) -0.05
I feel safe on a bus or train (Safety) 0.03
Variable Pattern loading
Riding transit is more reliable than driving during bad weather (Convenience) 0.1
Improving transit is as good a use of tax dollars as improving roads (Transport policy) -0.02
Riding transit is less stressful than driving on congested highways (Comfort) -0.15
If it would save time, I would change my form of travel (Convenience) 0.02
More than saving time, I prefer to be productive when traveling (Convenience) 0.18
Predictable travel time is more important than a faster trip (Convenience) 0.36
Privacy is important to me when I travel (Comfort) 0.68
It is important to be able to control heat and air conditioning when I travel (Comfort) 0.65
Regardless of cost, I choose the fastest way to travel (Cost) 0.59
To avoid highway congestion, I leave earlier or later than usual (Convenience) 0.5
As long as I am comfortable, I can tolerate delays (Comfort) 0.49
When I drive, I worry about getting into an accident (Safety) 0.4
I often need to change my daily travel plans at a moment's notice (Convenience) 0.04
During the day, I often make trips to a wide variety of locations (Convenience) -0.02
I often make a lot of stops along the way to work/school (Convenience) 0.11
I don't mind transferring between buses and trains (Convenience) 0.07
I am willing to walk a few minutes to get to and from transit (Convenience) -0.22
My family and friends typically use public transportation (Social norms) 0.05
I am the kind of person who rides transit (Mode-liking) -0.36
The fastest way to get to work/school is driving (Convenience) 0.25
Increasing fares is necessary to avoid any cuts in transit service (Transport policy) -0.04
I feel safe walking near my work/school location (Safety) 0.12
I feel safe on a bus or train (Safety) -0.35
Variable Pattern loading
Riding transit is more reliable than driving during bad weather (Convenience) 0.66
Improving transit is as good a use of tax dollars as improving roads (Transport policy) 0.66
Riding transit is less stressful than driving on congested highways (Comfort) 0.65
If it would save time, I would change my form of travel (Convenience) 0.45
More than saving time, I prefer to be productive when traveling (Convenience) 0.44
Predictable travel time is more important than a faster trip (Convenience) 0.37
Privacy is important to me when I travel (Comfort) -0.12
It is important to be able to control heat and air conditioning when I travel (Comfort) -0.06
Regardless of cost, I choose the fastest way to travel (Cost) 0.04
To avoid highway congestion, I leave earlier or later than usual (Convenience) 0.15
As long as I am comfortable, I can tolerate delays (Comfort) 0.13
When I drive, I worry about getting into an accident (Safety) 0.32
I often need to change my daily travel plans at a moment's notice (Convenience) -0.03
During the day, I often make trips to a wide variety of locations (Convenience) 0
I often make a lot of stops along the way to work/school (Convenience) 0.09
I don't mind transferring between buses and trains (Convenience) 0.07
I am willing to walk a few minutes to get to and from transit (Convenience) 0.18
My family and friends typically use public transportation (Social norms) 0.12
I am the kind of person who rides transit (Mode-liking) 0.41
The fastest way to get to work/school is driving (Convenience) -0.22
Increasing fares is necessary to avoid any cuts in transit service (Transport policy) 0.37
I feel safe walking near my work/school location (Safety) 0.01
I feel safe on a bus or train (Safety) 0.32
Variable Pattern loading
Riding transit is more reliable than driving during bad weather (Convenience) 0.09
Improving transit is as good a use of tax dollars as improving roads (Transport policy) 0.05
Riding transit is less stressful than driving on congested highways (Comfort) 0.28
If it would save time, I would change my form of travel (Convenience) -0.33
More than saving time, I prefer to be productive when traveling (Convenience) -0.2
Predictable travel time is more important than a faster trip (Convenience) 0.3
Privacy is important to me when I travel (Comfort) -0.25
It is important to be able to control heat and air conditioning when I travel (Comfort) -0.06
Regardless of cost, I choose the fastest way to travel (Cost) 0.19
To avoid highway congestion, I leave earlier or later than usual (Convenience) 0.11
As long as I am comfortable, I can tolerate delays (Comfort) 0.24
When I drive, I worry about getting into an accident (Safety) -0.16
I often need to change my daily travel plans at a moment's notice (Convenience) 0.01
During the day, I often make trips to a wide variety of locations (Convenience) 0.05
I often make a lot of stops along the way to work/school (Convenience) -0.1
I don't mind transferring between buses and trains (Convenience) 0.18
I am willing to walk a few minutes to get to and from transit (Convenience) -0.01
My family and friends typically use public transportation (Social norms) 0.05
I am the kind of person who rides transit (Mode-liking) 0.02
The fastest way to get to work/school is driving (Convenience) 0.2
Increasing fares is necessary to avoid any cuts in transit service (Transport policy) -0.03
I feel safe walking near my work/school location (Safety) 0.66
I feel safe on a bus or train (Safety) 0.59
Variable Pattern loading
Riding transit is more reliable than driving during bad weather (Convenience) 0.16
Improving transit is as good a use of tax dollars as improving roads (Transport policy) 0.09
Riding transit is less stressful than driving on congested highways (Comfort) 0.03
If it would save time, I would change my form of travel (Convenience) 0.19
More than saving time, I prefer to be productive when traveling (Convenience) -0.22
Predictable travel time is more important than a faster trip (Convenience) -0.09
Privacy is important to me when I travel (Comfort) 0.12
It is important to be able to control heat and air conditioning when I travel (Comfort) -0.1
Regardless of cost, I choose the fastest way to travel (Cost) -0.01
To avoid highway congestion, I leave earlier or later than usual (Convenience) -0.14
As long as I am comfortable, I can tolerate delays (Comfort) 0.46
When I drive, I worry about getting into an accident (Safety) 0.34
I often need to change my daily travel plans at a moment's notice (Convenience) 0.1
During the day, I often make trips to a wide variety of locations (Convenience) 0.05
I often make a lot of stops along the way to work/school (Convenience) -0.08
I don't mind transferring between buses and trains (Convenience) 0.73
I am willing to walk a few minutes to get to and from transit (Convenience) 0.65
My family and friends typically use public transportation (Social norms) 0.26
I am the kind of person who rides transit (Mode-liking) 0.27
The fastest way to get to work/school is driving (Convenience) -0.22
Increasing fares is necessary to avoid any cuts in transit service (Transport policy) 0.25
I feel safe walking near my work/school location (Safety) 0.11
I feel safe on a bus or train (Safety) 0.2

Models

Dependent variable transit as commute mode or not
Model type binary logit
Sample size 868.0
R2 nan
Adjusted R2
Pseudo R2 (w.r.t. constants only model) 0.3109
AIC nan
BIC nan
Log-likelihood at zero nan
Log-likelihood at constants -257.998
Log-likelihood at convergence -177.795
Variable Coefficient p-value
Transit constant -2.0767 0.031
Number of vehicles in HH - number of workers in HH -0.8343 0.0
City-to-city commuter (1 = yes, 0 = no) 1.976 0.02
Suburb-to-city commuter (1 = yes, 0 = no) 2.0315 0.059
Transit in-vehicle time (min) -0.0126 0.368
Transit out-of-vehicle time (min) -0.0941 0.0
Transit fare (cents) -0.0009 0.653
Auto travel time (min) 0.0255 0.034
Auto operating cost (cents) 0.0005 0.868
Dependent variable transit as commute mode or not
Model type binary logit
Sample size 868.0
R2 nan
Adjusted R2
Pseudo R2 (w.r.t. constants only model) 0.5458
AIC nan
BIC nan
Log-likelihood at zero nan
Log-likelihood at constants -257.998
Log-likelihood at convergence -117.177
Variable Coefficient p-value
Transit constant -3.82 0.002
Number of vehicles in HH - number of workers in HH -0.8173 0.0
City-to-city commuter (1 = yes, 0 = no) 2.3732 0.018
Suburb-to-city commuter (1 = yes, 0 = no) 1.2783 0.324
Transit in-vehicle time (min) -0.0325 0.071
Transit out-of-vehicle time (min) -0.0601 0.002
Transit fare (cents) -0.0017 0.396
Auto travel time (min) 0.0272 0.052
Auto operating cost (cents) 0.0027 0.368
Need for reliable and stress-free commute 0.7651 0.0
Need for privacy and comfort -0.8105 0.0
Dynamic work schedule and complexity of trips -0.6904 0.0
Tolerance to walking and waiting 0.6094 0.001
Attitude to importance of public transportation 1.0962 0.0
Perceived safety of travel ambience -0.3205 0.05

The Attitudes and Travel Database is produced with support from the Center for Teaching Old Models New Tricks at Arizona State University, a University Transportation Center sponsored by the US Department of Transportation through Grant No. 69A3551747116.

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