Modeling Generalized Cost of Travel for Rural Bus Users: A Case Study

Abstract

In order to formulate rational improvement proposal for rural bus services, it is necessary to understand how people value different attributes of travel. In this ar- ticle, the disutilities of travel have been modeled based on stated choice data col- lected from trip-makers traveling along a rural bus route in Midnapur district, West Bengal, India. Multinomial Logit Model (MNL) is used to develop utility equations and the total disutility of travel is estimated in the form of generalized cost. The perceived values associated with in-vehicle travel time, service headway, and com- fort level for the study route are estimated and found to be significant.