This paper reports on a study into Roll-On/Roll-Off (RoRo) port and ferry route choice. The paper first brings together all of the major research to date on port/ferry choice. An in-depth research methodology is then employed which incorporates both quantitative and qualitative methodologies for an investigation of port/ferry choice in the Ireland/UK and Ireland/Continental Europe markets. The qualitative methodology employed, construct elicitation, has not previously been employed in this context. In addition, determinants of choice and the role of other selection variables have been elucidated and two techniques, input-oriented modeling and process-oriented modeling, have been employed to model the decision making process. The output of the combined, three-phase research project comprises a synthesis and model of RoRo port/ferry choice. Implications for the Irish RoRo freight market and transport and logistics theory are discussed.
Abstract