This article presents a statistical analysis of the modal choice of day trips. In a questionnaire respondents were asked to choose between car, train, and zeppelin. They were given the travel times, transport costs and the frequencies of services for each mode, and also the number of accompanying persons. The respondents who had opted for the car or the train were asked whether they would reconsider their choice in favour of the zeppelin if the zeppelin were to become cheaper, faster and/or offer more frequent services. With the help of a binominal logit model groups of persons were identified who preferred the idea of travelling by zeppelin. The impact of transport costs, travel time and frequencies on the transport mode choice was analysed by using a multinominal logit model. Extensions of this model were used to measure the impact of individual characteristics on the transport mode choice, and the impact of the income level on the valuation of transport costs, travel times, and service frequencies. On average, the respondents were willing to pay about 20 Dutch guilders for a travel reduction time of one hour, and about 9 Dutch guilders for service frequencies to be increased from one to two times an hour. Preparedness to pay positively correlated with a person's income level. (A)
Abstract