Quantifying the passenger cost of increased crowding or conversely the benefits of additional train capacity requires assumptions on how passengers value time under different levels of on-train crowding. How much would a passenger who has to stand for 20 minutes on a train be willing to pay for the comfort of an uncrowded seat ? How does the cost of crowding increase if standing is in crushed conditions ? Does the cost of standing per minute increase if passengers have to stand for a long periods of time ? Is there also a cost of sitting in crowded versus uncrowded seating ? Although there have been some studies undertaken on the cost of crowding overseas, for Sydney the most recent values were established in the mid 1990s. To update the Sydney values of on-train crowding, a stated preference survey of passengers was undertaken in 2005. This paper summarises the survey approach, sample models and results. The estimated crowding values are compared with earlier Sydney research studies. A simple worked example is then used to illustrate how the formula can be used to evaluate the passenger benefits of reduced crowding. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E214666.
Abstract