Luke Haywood, Martin Koning
Preferences for transport activities are often considered only in terms of time and money. Whilst congestion in automobile traffic increases costs by raising trip durations, the same is less obvious in public transport (PT), especially rail-based. This has lead many economic analyses to conclude that there exists a free lunch by reducing the attractiveness of automobile transport (most efficiently, via road pricing) at no or little cost for public transport users. This article argues that congestion in public transport - crowding - is also costly. We estimate the degree to which users value comfort in terms of lower density of public transport users. Using a contingent valuation method we describe marginal willingness to pay over different parts of the distribution of in-vehicle crowding and consider moderating factors. The data used originates from the Parisian metro, a PT system subject to considerable, but variable, congestion that is not at a point of saturation. We applyour results to the cost-benefit analysis of a recent investment in public transport in Paris and consider broader implications for transport policy.
Keywords: Travel comfort, crowding costs, contingent valuation method, time multipliers, Paris subway
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