TOPIC I: CHOICE BETWEEN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT

IN ADDITION TO THE INHERENT ADVANTAGES OF THE CAR OVER OTHER MODES OF TRANSPORTATION, MATALON CONSIDERS SEVERAL PSYCHOLOGICAL INDUCEMENTS TO CAR USE, SUCH AS THE ENJOYMENT OF DRIVING AND OF SPEED, FEELINGS OF PERSONAL AFFECTION FOR THE CAR, A SENSE OF SAFETY, AND EXPRESSION OF A WAY OF LIFE. AT A TIME WHEN CITIES WERE NOT BEING STRANGLED BY TRAFFIC, THESE PSYCHOLOGICAL SETS WERE NOT HARMFUL, BUT NOW THEY REINFORCE A SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE FORM OF TRAVEL. THESE SETS HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON INDIVIDUAL PERCEPTION OF FACTORS IN MODAL CHOICE, SUCH AS CONVENIENCE, TRAVEL TIME, COMFORT, COST, AND SO ON. SOME SUGGESTIONS ARE MADE FOR CONVERTING THESE SETS TO AN ATTITUDE FAVORABLE TOWARD TRANSIT. NOORTMAN, WHO IS DIRECTOR OF THE NETHERLANDS INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORTATION, EMPLOYS THE EXPERIENCE OF THAT COUNTRY TO DISCUSS, FIRST, THE DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN AGGLOMERATIONS IN RELATION TO TRIP PURPOSES; SECOND, THE INABILITY OF MASS TRANSIT TO OFFER AN EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE CAR; THIRD, THE ORGANIZATION AND FINANCING OF TRANSIT SERVICES IN A DEFICIT SITUATION, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE INHERENT DISECONOMIES OF SCALE; AND, FOURTH, THE ORGANIZATION OF INDIVIDUAL MEANS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, SUCH AS TAXIS, JITNEYS, AND DEMAND-RESPONSIVE SYSTEMS. DIEDERICH DISCUSSES THE ELEMENTS OF A MODAL CHOICE BASED ON A RATIONAL USER ASSESSMENT OF THE COSTS INVOLVED. THIS THEORETICAL ANALYSIS IS SUPPLEMENTED BY THE RESULTS OF AN 11-CITY SURVEY IN GERMANY THAT DISCOVERED THAT A 10% INCREASE IN FARES LED TO A 3% DECLINE IN PATRONAGE. THE STUDY CONCLUDES WITH SOME COMMENTS ON EMOTIONAL ELEMENTS OF MODAL CHOICE.

• Corporate Authors:

  4th Intl Symp Theory & Practice /Neth

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Matalon, B
  • Noortman, H J
  • Diederich, H
• Publication Date: 1971-10

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 143 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Costs; Demand; Demand responsive transportation; Fares; Mode choice; Operating costs; Psychological aspects; Public transit; Ridership; Taxicabs
• Old TRIS Terms: Modal selection
• Subject Areas: Economics; Finance; Highways; Public Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00202295
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 12 1973 12:00AM