This article endeavours to trace which are the generic and the specific factors that are responsible for the differences in demand elasticities for public transport in various European countries: Norway, Finland, England, and the Netherlands. On the basis of a broad-based database, an attempt has been made to execute a comparative meta-analysis relating to various empirical studies carried out in the past. Due to the inherent lack of comparability afforded by the statistical material a new method has been developed, the so-called `rough set analysis' method. This analysis led to the conclusion that it is particularly two factors adhered to the research method which may be considered accountable for the noted differences, namely the aggregate level of the analysis (especially aggregated empirically based research methods versus disaggregated choice models) together with fundamental differences in model assumptions. There are also country-specific mobility patterns, the number of competing transport modes and the type of data collected which provide an explanation for the discrepancies in elasticities. (A)
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