Influence of Mobile Payment on Bus Boarding Service Time

Abstract

A new form of mobile payment, Quick Response (QR) code, has been a popular way of paying bus fares in China since 2017. Compared with conventional payment methods, cash or IC card, QR code shows a lot of differences in response time, recognition accuracy, and payment procedure, which significantly influences the boarding service time (BST) for passengers. However, no research has considered its efficiency. This study, therefore, tries to fill this gap and investigate its influence on BST. Sufficient ride-check data were collected, and the influence of the QR code payment method on BST was examined through a set of regression models. Passengers pay the bus fare with different payment methods as their first choice; nevertheless, when the payment fails, they may transfer among them. According to the payment choice, result, and process, we introduce the first-choice-based, the last-choice-based, and the choice-transfer-based models, respectively. The scenario with delays in calling out the QR code was considered in the choice-transfer-based model. The onboard crowdedness was regarded as a categorical variable to determine the regime of the boarding process in all models. We conduct empirical analysis in Wuhan, and this study can help to identify the influence of the QR code payment method on BST, consequently, improving bus service efficiency.