Impact of Public Transport Context Situation and Culture on Mode Choice

Arrival on time when reaching a trip destination is perceived differently by different communities, but the need to arrive at the desired time is essential. This study conducted a cross-cultural comparison of the waiting time reliability of public bus transport systems in three cities in three different countries: Haifa, Israel; Quito, Ecuador; and Valencia, Spain. The objective of the study was to understand and compare the importance of reliable public transport for university students attending classes in these diverse locations. A stated preference survey was conducted that considered the local fares and current travel times for each community. A logit model was designed to detect the importance of the waiting time reliability of bus timing. The values of time and value of reliability were estimated for each location, and the results were compared. The study established that reliability is, in fact, one of the important characteristics when choosing a travel mode (along with cost and travel time) across all of these diverse communities. The results showed that in all of the samples, the Value of Reliability (VOR) late was much higher than the Value of Reliability (VOR) early. Due to the differences between the transportation systems of the distinct countries, this study did not cover all possible transportation variables. An in-depth study, covering other variables, should be undertaken in the future.