01516073

Component

This paper aims to examine mode choice behaviour for school trips in Dhaka City, one of the densest cities of the world. To explore the factors that affect students’ choice of travel mode for school trips, a 24-hour travel diary survey was conducted in 2012 among students in grades 6-10 in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. A random parameter logit (RPL) model is estimated, considering four major alternatives: private car, three wheel pedal-powered vehicles (TWPV), walk, and bus. The model results show that the higher the travel time of a mode, the less would be the probability of choosing the mode for school trips. It is also found that personal and household characteristics influence children’s mode choices for school trips. For example, socio-economic factors such as household monthly income and size of the household play a vital role in choosing private car for school trips. However, the study reveals that built environment attributes are the most significant factors in mode choice for school trips in Dhaka City. For instance, the presence of sidewalks around homes increases the probability of walking. On the other hand, the presence of intersections nearby home reduces the use of TWPV. The model results also confirm that considerable heterogeneity exist among sampled students as evident in statistically significant standard deviations of the random parameters. Understanding mode choice behaviour is crucial in reducing peak-hour localized traffic congestion in Dhaka City. It will also provide useful insight to assist in effective planning and implementation of policies such as Safe Routes to School (SR2S) in developing countries.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADB10 Traveler Behavior and Values.

01503729

14-1278

English

15p

2014

Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

References; Tables

Developing countries; Logits; Mode choice; School trips; Sidewalks; Three wheeled vehicles; Traffic congestion; Travel time; Walking distance

Safe Routes to School (Program)

Dhaka City (Bangladesh)

Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2014 Paper #14-1278

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 27 2014 2:29PM