Impact of attitude on cumulative mode choices of intercity business travellers in China

Abstract

Using data from a revealed preference survey conducted in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomeration of China, two sets of latent attitudinal variables, hypothesised to affect cumulative mode choices, were generated through factor analysis. A fractional multinomial logit model was adopted to estimate the allocation of trips across three main intercity modes over the previous year. The results showed that intercity business travellers would use a certain mode more frequently if they considered it to be the most convenient and reliable. In addition, the general attitudinal factors ‘travel utility’ and ‘car affinity’ were found to affect positively the proportions of annual intercity high-speed train trips and car trips, respectively. Business travellers with a fun-oriented attitude were found more likely to take an intercity bus, whereas those under travel pressure or holding an overall positive perception towards intercity travel would use an intercity bus less. Car ownership and city type were also found to be impact factors. Based on the results of the study, attitudinal variables in the full model help to explain the proportions of annual mode trips and some market strategies could be applied to enhance services for intercity business travellers in the YRD urban agglomeration.