Estimating the Value of Airport Access Time in Developing Countries with a Case Study of Nanjing, China

Abstract

The valuation of time is one of the most important public policy issues in project cost-benefit analysis. This paper estimates the value of airport access time and time variability in developing countries with a case study of Nanjing, China. An international meta-analysis is being used to identify the factors that may affect heterogeneity in the value of travel time. Regression models are then established for the prediction of the value of travel time. The results provide some new insights into the impacts of survey region, traffic mode, and trip purpose on the value of travel time. Considering the significant influencing factors that were obtained, stated preference surveys are designed and used to collect data on preferred arrival time and decision choice under various hypothetical situations. A multivariate regression model is used with the data to explore the significant factors that influence the travelers’ preferred arrival time. Mixed logit models are developed to estimate the value of airport access time, value of schedule delay early, and value of schedule delay late by incorporating the effects of travel delay variability on users’ scheduling costs. The tax system is being used to illustrate the contribution of different income groups to social funds, which also calculates the social value of airport access time, social value of schedule delay early, and social value of schedule delay late. The results identify the significant factors that may affect the valuation of airport access time and provide reasonable estimates for these values. The findings also bring new enlightenment on the effects of the variation of airport access time.