Modelling Random Taste Variations on Level Changes in Passenger Route Choice in a Public Transport Station

Abstract

In large stations of public transportation high crowd densities can lead to potentialsafety risks and to unnecessary delays. To assess the actual capacity of potentialbottlenecks a deeper understanding on the route choice of pedestrians is ofgreat importance. This paper investigates the factors that influence the routechoice of pedestrians when facing a stair/escalator combination in a major Austriantrain station. We employ random utility models on data sets of revealed andstated preferences. In particular we investigate the potential for heterogeneities intaste by employing mixed logit models. The results show that, first, crowding is animportant factor for route choice, second, that the application of mixed logit modelsis appropriate and, last, that the use of both revealed and stated preference dataadds valuable information.