Citation

Molin E, Maat K. Res. Transp. Econ. 2015; 53: 3-12.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.retrec.2015.10.014

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Due to the increasing use of bicycles as an access and egress mode for train travel in the Netherlands, bicycle parking facilities at many inner city railway stations are having trouble accommodating parking demand while scare space near train platforms precludes the expansion of such facilities. A potential solution for this problem is to offer paid, high-quality parking facilities close to the train platforms and free but lower-quality parking further away. Since free parking is currently also offered close to the platforms, the question arises of how the proposed solution would affect cycling as an access and egress mode for train travel. To answer this question, the bicycle parking preferences of train travellers were examined in this paper by reporting the results of a stated choice experiment (n = 866) conducted in Delft. In this experiment, respondents chose between paid and free parking alternatives, that varied in costs, walking time to platform and the type of surveillance. To explore the effects of paid bicycle parking on the demand for bicycle parking, two base alternatives were added to each choice set, that is 'other mode' and 'use another station'. Based on the observed choices in this experiment, a four-class Latent Class Model (LCM) was estimated that provides insight in the heterogeneity of the bicycle parking preferences of train travellers. The classes are labelled as 'free facility lovers', 'cost sensitive cyclists', 'time sensitive cyclists', and 'paid facility lovers'. The estimated model was used to predict choice behaviour under various implementations of the new pricing policy. The results indicate that only a small proportion of the train travellers will stop cycling to and from the station. Of these, the vast majority would rather walk and a fair share would use public transport. Only a very small number would travel to the station by car. The results suggest that paid bicycle parking is a feasible solution by which to distribute scarce parking capacity at major railway stations. (C) 2015 Elsevier Publications.

Language: en