Andrew T. Collins

Identifying commuter preferences for existing modes and a proposed Metro in Sydney, Australia with special reference to crowding

In 2009, the New South Wales government announced that it would be proceeding with a feasibility study to identify the patronage potential of a new Metro rail system for Sydney. As part of this study, a new modal choice study was undertaken to establish the role of traditional attributes such as travel times and costs (and more recently, reliability) but also somewhat neglected influences such as crowding, where the later has a critical role in the calculation of capacity needs at railway stations. This paper focuses on the commuter segment and develops a new stated choice experiment in which travellers are able to compare the proposed new Metro with existing available modal alternatives for access, linehaul and egress trip stages, with a particular emphasis on the incorporation of crowding represented by the availability of a seat vs. standing in existing and new public transport modes. We present the error component choice model together with estimates of mode-specific willingness to pay for travel time components, service frequency and crowding, that latter expressed in terms of the probability of getting a seat and the probability of avoiding standing.

Behavioural Influences on the Environmental Impact of Collection/Delivery Points

For more than a decade, business-to-consumer parcel deliveries have been growing rapidly. Despite this, the ‘last mile’ of the supply chain, which involves the final physical transfer of goods to the customer, is particularly problematic for many customers, as delivery times are often unpredictable and/or not convenient. An increasingly prevalent alternative to conventional delivery is the collection/delivery point (CDP), where parcels are delivered to a CDP of the customers’ choosing, and picked up at a more convenient time. From an environmental perspective, CDPs can reduce failed deliveries and allow consolidation of the delivery schedules. However, a full environmental assessment should also consider the customers’ movements required to make the pickups. In this chapter, competing delivery and pickup offerings are framed in terms of the utility that each provide to the customer. A random parameter error components logit model is estimated, using stated choice survey data, to uncover what is influencing the choice of these market offerings. The last mile alternatives investigated extend beyond a pickup-conventional delivery dichotomy, to include alternative CDP locations, pickup access modes, and ways in which the pickups might be integrated into existing travel. We find that changing the price, quality and location of the CDP and delivery offerings can disproportionately influence more environmentally friendly means of picking up from CDPs, such as walking, cycling, and integrating the pickup into an existing car trip. This provides the groundwork for a more complete, behaviourally informed quantification of the last mile parcel delivery and pickup environmental footprint.

The Influence of Varying Information Load on Inferred Attribute Non-Attendance

Abstract Purpose There is extensive evidence that decision-makers, faced with increasing information load, may simplify their choice by reducing the amount of information to process. One simplification, commonly referred to as attribute non-attendance (ANA), is a reduction of the number of attributes of the choice alternatives. Several previous studies have identified relationships between varying information load and ANA using self-reported measures of ANA. This chapter revisits this link, motivated by recognition in the literature that such self-reported measures are vulnerable to reporting error. Methodology This chapter employs a recently developed modelling approach that has been shown to effectively infer ANA, the random parameters attribute non-attendance (RPANA) model. The empirical setting systematically varies the information load across respondents, on a number of dimensions. Findings Confirming earlier findings, ANA is accentuated by an increase in the number of attribute levels, and a decrease in the number of alternatives. Additionally, specific attributes are more likely to not be attended to as the total number of attributes increases. Willingness to pay (WTP) under inferred ANA differs notably from when ANA is self-reported. Additionally accounting for varying information load, when inferring ANA, has little impact on the WTP distribution of those that do attend. However, due to varying rates of non-attendance, the overall WTP distribution varies to a large extent. Originality and value This is the first examination of the impact of varying information load on inferred ANA that is identified with the RPANA model. The value lies in the confirmation of earlier findings despite the evolution of methodologies in the interim.

Regional airports and opportunities for low-cost carriers in Australia

This paper describes how Australia is vitally dependent on aviation services for delivering passenger accessibility to many rural and remote locations. The majority of airports in Australia are regional airports. There are real opportunities for a number of regional airports to improve their services for the region through the introduction of low-cost carriers (LCCs). The objective of this paper is to investigate this potential, through a formal model system of the entire aviation network in Australia, focusing on identifying influences on passenger demand and flights offered, and the role of air fares and number of competitors on each route.

How Safety Risk Information and Alternative Forms of Presenting It Affect Traveler Decision Rules in International Flight Choice

This article develops a “latent elimination” choice model to examine how travelers respond to different levels of safety risk in making decisions about flight choices. We find a pattern of eliminatory and compensatory decision-mix where travelers have varying thresholds of risk acceptance. Below this threshold the options are eliminated, whereas above the threshold the safety attribute can be traded off with other flight attributes. The “safe” versus “unsafe” dichotomy in risk perception is thus a special case where a traveler’s threshold is especially high. Based on a sample of 509 Australians, our stated choice experiment utilized six alternative forms of safety information presentation, and found that they influenced the decision rules adopted by tourists and their willingness to pay. The latent elimination choice model can be used for retrieving elimination behavior in an information-rich online decision context that characterizes many tourism choices, including for understanding how travelers respond to destination safety risk information.