Examining the effect of integrated ticketing on mode choice for interregional commuting: Studies among car commuters

Increasing sustainable travel patterns necessitates a considerable amount of research aimed at the detail measurement and understanding of travel mode choice. Most Public transport (PT) service quality improvements are expected to have positive effects on a shift from car to PT. The effects of improvements such as integrated ticketing is often overlooked in mode choice analysis. Considering the widespread implementation of integrated ticketing schemes globally and some evidence confirming the positive substitution effects between car and season ticket ownerships, the objective of this study was to examine the correlation between mode choice for commuting and multi-regional integrated ticketing. A stated preference (SP) survey was conducted along the E4 motorway between Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden. 84 out of the 96 respondents answered the SP questions, resulting in 756 SP observations. Subsequently, binary and mixed logit models were estimated. The results suggested that integrated ticketing has an overall positive effect on promoting greater public transport use; in particular, male car commuters compared to females are more likely to switch to PT for commuting. The methodological and policy implication of this positive association is that the effects of integrated ticketing should be included in demand modeling to improve both the accuracy of the estimates and the policy decisions that are based on these estimates.