01551111

Component

Traditionally transit market research has categorized riders into two distinct groups: captive and choice riders. While it is important for transit agencies to acknowledge the presence of these groups, market analyses that depend on such broad categories are likely to overlook important details about the needs and desires of their customer base. This study attempts to better understand the complexities of the different groups riding transit by using information from five years of customer satisfaction questionnaires collected by two Canadian transit providers in Montreal, Quebec, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Employing a series of clustering techniques, the analysis shows market segments that are present in both transit agencies. The segments are defined based on regularity of usage, choice, captivity and day of usage. The detailed analysis of these clusters reveals that the low cost of transit, convenience and efficiency of mode, as well as the service attributes are areas where policies are most likely to increase ridership among users, especially irregular ones. Since the findings have been consistent in two geographically distinct settings this research is expected to be replicable and applicable in other North American cities and is hoped to provide a new segmentation approach and policy framework that can help in the collective goal of increasing transit ridership.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AP030 Public Transportation Marketing and Fare Policy.

01550057

15-1392

English

23p

2015

Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Consumer behavior; Customer satisfaction; Market assessment; Market research; Modal shift; Ridership; Transit riders

Montreal (Canada); Vancouver (Canada)

Administration and Management; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2015 Paper #15-1392

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 30 2014 12:32PM