IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/trapol/v15y2008i4p216-224.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How persuasive is 'free' public transport?: A survey among commuters in the Brussels Capital Region

Author

Listed:
  • De Witte, Astrid
  • Macharis, Cathy
  • Mairesse, Olivier

Abstract

In Belgium, several cities have been experimenting with 'free' public transport based on the concept of a third payer system. This study explores the modal shift potential of this measure for commuters by means of a large-scale survey. The results indicate that there is still a margin for a further modal shift, but in order to make public transport more attractive to car users, the price paid by the commuter should be lowered, the quality and capacity of the public services should be improved and the mobility policy of the companies should be adjusted in favour of public transport.

Suggested Citation

  • De Witte, Astrid & Macharis, Cathy & Mairesse, Olivier, 2008. "How persuasive is 'free' public transport?: A survey among commuters in the Brussels Capital Region," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 216-224, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:15:y:2008:i:4:p:216-224
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967-070X(08)00029-2
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hine, J. & Scott, J., 2000. "Seamless, accessible travel: users' views of the public transport journey and interchange," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 217-226, July.
    2. Kingham, S. & Dickinson, J. & Copsey, S, 2001. "Travelling to work: will people move out of their cars," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 151-160, April.
    3. Macharis, Cathy & De Witte, Astrid & Steenberghen, Therese & Van de Walle, Stefaan & Lannoy, Pierre & Polain, Celine, 2006. "Impact and effectivity of ‘Free’ Public Transport measures: lessons from the case study of Brussels," European Transport \ Trasporti Europei, ISTIEE, Institute for the Study of Transport within the European Economic Integration, issue 32, pages 26-48.
    4. Dargay, Joyce, 2007. "The effect of prices and income on car travel in the UK," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 41(10), pages 949-960, December.
    5. De Witte, Astrid & Macharis, Cathy & Lannoy, Pierre & Polain, Céline & Steenberghen, Thérèse & Van de Walle, Stefaan, 2006. "The impact of "free" public transport: The case of Brussels," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 671-689, October.
    6. Fujii, Satoshi & Gärling, Tommy, 2003. "Application of attitude theory for improved predictive accuracy of stated preference methods in travel demand analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 389-402, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lee, Ming-Tsung & Yeh, Chao-Fu, 2019. "Causal effects between bus revenue vehicle-kilometers and bus ridership," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 54-64.
    2. Van Malderen, Laurent & Jourquin, Bart & Thomas, Isabelle & Vanoutrive, Thomas & Verhetsel, Ann & Witlox, Frank, 2012. "On the mobility policies of companies: What are the good practices? The Belgian case," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 10-19.
    3. Abou-Zeid, Maya & Ben-Akiva, Moshe, 2012. "Travel mode switching: Comparison of findings from two public transportation experiments," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 48-59.
    4. Laurent Van Malderen & Bart Jourquin & Isabelle Thomas & Thomas Vanoutrive & Ann Verhetsel & Frank Witlox, 2011. "Employer Mobility Plans: Acceptability, Efficiency And Costs," ERSA conference papers ersa10p291, European Regional Science Association.
    5. Krzysztof Grzelec & Aleksander Jagiełło, 2020. "The Effects of the Selective Enlargement of Fare-Free Public Transport," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-18, August.
    6. Kurniawan, Jude Herijadi & Ong, Corinne & Cheah, Lynette, 2018. "Examining values and influences affecting public expectations of future urban mobility: A Singapore case study," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 66-75.
    7. Eccarius, Timo & Leung, Abraham & Shen, Chung-Wei & Burke, Matthew & Lu, Chung-Cheng, 2021. "Prospects for shared electric velomobility: Profiling potential adopters at a multi-campus university," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    8. Urbanek, Anna, 2021. "Potential of modal shift from private cars to public transport: A survey on the commuters’ attitudes and willingness to switch – A case study of Silesia Province, Poland," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    9. Cools, Mario & Fabbro, Yannick & Bellemans, Tom, 2016. "Free public transport: A socio-cognitive analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 96-107.
    10. Bull, Owen & Muñoz, Juan Carlos & Silva, Hugo E., 2021. "The impact of fare-free public transport on travel behavior: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    11. De Witte, Astrid & Hollevoet, Joachim & Dobruszkes, Frédéric & Hubert, Michel & Macharis, Cathy, 2013. "Linking modal choice to motility: A comprehensive review," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 329-341.
    12. Laurent Van Malderen & Bart Jourquin & Isabelle Thomas, 2012. "Employers Transport Plans: Do They Change The Commuting Behaviour Of Workers?," ERSA conference papers ersa12p1048, European Regional Science Association.
    13. Tercan, Şafak Hengirmen, 2021. "Second-hand renovated trams as a novel decision strategy for public transport investment," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 364-371.
    14. Cass, Noel & Faulconbridge, James, 2016. "Commuting practices: New insights into modal shift from theories of social practice," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-14.
    15. Robert TOMANEK, 2017. "Free-Fare Public Transport In The Concept Of Sustainable Urban Mobility," Transport Problems, Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Transport, vol. 12(SE), pages 95-105, December.
    16. Macharis, Cathy & De Witte, Astrid, 2012. "The typical company car user does not exist: The case of Flemish company car drivers," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 91-98.
    17. Cheng, Yung-Hsiang & Tseng, Wei-Chih, 2016. "Exploring the effects of perceived values, free bus transfer, and penalties on intermodal metro–bus transfer users' intention," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 127-138.
    18. Zahwa Al-Ayyash & Maya Abou-Zeid, 2019. "Investigating commute satisfaction differences of private car users and public transport users in a developing country context," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 515-536, June.
    19. Owen Bulla & Juan Carlos Muñoz & Hugo Silva, 2019. "The impact of fare-free public transport on travel behavior: evidence," Documentos de Trabajo 531, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. De Witte, Astrid & Hollevoet, Joachim & Dobruszkes, Frédéric & Hubert, Michel & Macharis, Cathy, 2013. "Linking modal choice to motility: A comprehensive review," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 329-341.
    2. Oded Cats & Yusak O. Susilo & Triin Reimal, 2017. "The prospects of fare-free public transport: evidence from Tallinn," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(5), pages 1083-1104, September.
    3. de Grange, Louis & Troncoso, Rodrigo & González, Felipe, 2012. "An empirical evaluation of the impact of three urban transportation policies on transit use," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 11-19.
    4. Cools, Mario & Fabbro, Yannick & Bellemans, Tom, 2016. "Free public transport: A socio-cognitive analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 96-107.
    5. Loo, Leanne Yong Le & Corcoran, Jonathan & Mateo-Babiano, Derlie & Zahnow, Renee, 2015. "Transport mode choice in South East Asia: Investigating the relationship between transport users’ perception and travel behaviour in Johor Bahru, Malaysia," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 99-111.
    6. Lois, David & Monzón, Andrés & Hernández, Sara, 2018. "Analysis of satisfaction factors at urban transport interchanges: Measuring travellers’ attitudes to information, security and waiting," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 49-56.
    7. Nan Yang & Yong Long Lim, 2018. "Temporary Incentives Change Daily Routines: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Singapore’s Subways," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(7), pages 3365-3379, July.
    8. Qihao Liu & Yuzheng Liu & Chia-Lin Chen & Enrica Papa & Yantao Ling & Mengqiu Cao, 2023. "Is It Possible to Compete With Car Use? How Buses Can Facilitate Sustainable Transport," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(3), pages 69-83.
    9. Dacko, Scott G. & Spalteholz, Carolin, 2014. "Upgrading the city: Enabling intermodal travel behaviour," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 222-235.
    10. Toşa, Cristian & Sato, Hitomi & Morikawa, Takayuki & Miwa, Tomio, 2018. "Commuting behavior in emerging urban areas: Findings of a revealed-preferences and stated-intentions survey in Cluj-Napoca, Romania," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 78-93.
    11. Jun Guan Neoh & Maxwell Chipulu & Alasdair Marshall, 2017. "What encourages people to carpool? An evaluation of factors with meta-analysis," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 423-447, March.
    12. F. Ruth Wood & Melissa Burgan & Steve Dorling & Rachel Warren, 2007. "Opportunities for Air Pollutant and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction through Local Transport Plannin," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 22(1), pages 40-61, February.
    13. Grotenhuis, Jan-Willem & Wiegmans, Bart W. & Rietveld, Piet, 2007. "The desired quality of integrated multimodal travel information in public transport: Customer needs for time and effort savings," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 27-38, January.
    14. Vandenbulcke, Grégory & Dujardin, Claire & Thomas, Isabelle & Geus, Bas de & Degraeuwe, Bart & Meeusen, Romain & Panis, Luc Int, 2011. "Cycle commuting in Belgium: Spatial determinants and 're-cycling' strategies," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 118-137, February.
    15. Rong-Chang Jou & David A. Hensher & Yu-Hsin Liu & Ching-Shu Chiu, 2010. "Urban Commuters’ Mode-switching Behaviour in Taipai, with an Application of the Bounded Rationality Principle," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(3), pages 650-665, March.
    16. de Oña, Juan & Estévez, Esperanza & de Oña, Rocío, 2021. "How does private vehicle users perceive the public transport service quality in large metropolitan areas? A European comparison," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 173-188.
    17. Drevs, Florian & Tscheulin, Dieter K. & Lindenmeier, Jörg & Renner, Simone, 2014. "Crowding-in or crowding out: An empirical analysis on the effect of subsidies on individual willingness-to-pay for public transportation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 250-261.
    18. Redman, Lauren & Friman, Margareta & Gärling, Tommy & Hartig, Terry, 2013. "Quality attributes of public transport that attract car users: A research review," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 119-127.
    19. Hickman, Robin & Chen, Chia-Lin & Chow, Andy & Saxena, Sharad, 2015. "Improving interchanges in China: the experiential phenomenon," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 175-186.
    20. Buys, Laurie & Miller, Evonne, 2011. "Conceptualising convenience: Transportation practices and perceptions of inner-urban high density residents in Brisbane, Australia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 289-297, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:15:y:2008:i:4:p:216-224. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30473/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.