Module 2: Transportation planning

Lecture 9 Modal split

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Factors influencing the choice of mode

The factors may be listed under three groups:

1. Characteristics of the trip maker : The following features are found to be important:
   1. car availability and/or ownership;
   2. possession of a driving license;
   3. household structure (young couple, couple with children, retired people etc.);
   4. income;
   5. decisions made elsewhere, for example the need to use a car at work, take children to school, etc;
   6. residential density.
2. Characteristics of the journey: Mode choice is strongly influenced by:
   1. The trip purpose; for example, the journey to work is normally easier to undertake by public transport than other journeys because of its regularity and the adjustment possible in the long run;
   2. Time of the day when the journey is undertaken.
   3. Late trips are more difficult to accommodate by public transport.
3. Characteristics of the transport facility: There are two types of factors.One is quantitative and the other is qualitative. Quantitative factors are:
   1. relative travel time: in-vehicle, waiting and walking times by each mode;
   2. relative monetary costs (fares, fuel and direct costs);
   3. availability and cost of parking
   Qualitative factors which are less easy to measure are:
   1. comfort and convenience
   2. reliability and regularity
   3. protection, security

A good mode choice should include the most important of these factors.