Research on Crowding Discomfort in Public Transport

This study analyzes the relationship between passenger attributes and perceived sensitivity in public transport. It aims to evaluate the sensitivity of variables of passengers to different elements of public transport and to estimate the value of travel time savings in different conditions based on data from a survey and stated choice (SC) study of users of Santiago’s metro system. The multinomial logit model and mode choice models are used for data analysis. Crowding multipliers are computed to measure its relevance on travel time disutility in this study. The principal findings show that different variables of passengers (such as gender, age, education, income, and other variables) have effects on their choices and these factors are relevant to travel time, in-vehicle density and sit/stand condition. Results show that females, older people, higher income users, passengers with fewer transfers, and people who prefer to remain seated are more sensitive to crowding.