Poster #18 - Contextualizing the impact of surrounding environment on transit use: results from two survey experiments

• In Event: Saturday Poster Luncheon

Abstract

Grounding: Satisfaction with transit safety is lower relative to other areas of service

Hypothesis: If customers see/experience poor conditions around transit stops, then it may affect their attitudes about and use of transit

Questions: How and to what extent do perceptions of conditions in the areas surrounding transit facilities affect (1) attitudes about using transit and (2) willingness to use transit?.

To investigate these questions, two transit agencies in the Pacific Northwest designed and conducted survey experiments (A & B) aimed at isolating the effect of the surrounding environment on transit-related decisions. The experiment A was embedded in a representative, countywide survey on travel and transit behaviors. The experiment B was distributed to a sample of current transit riders who had signed up for agency service alerts. In both surveys, respondents were randomly assigned to evaluate a travel scenario that either described a neutral downtown location or highlighted a well-known corridor often associated in local media with complex public safety and social challenges such as loitering and drug use. Respondents then indicated their preferred mode of travel given the scenario.

The results were clear: across both experiments, people were significantly less likely to choose transit (in experiment A) or transfer to a bus during a rail disruption (in experiment B) if the scenario involved waiting in the area with a negative public image. The difference was statistically significant for both transit users and non-users, demonstrating that perceptions of the surrounding environment can meaningfully influence travel decisions. These results suggest that transit agencies must consider the environment around transit in order to fully understand the impact that public safety concerns have on transit use. Addressing these concerns can help transit agencies contextualize their efforts to grow ridership and achieve climate goals. Researchers at the transit agencies have also found this survey experiment to be an effective way to communicate social science methodologies and findings with their stakeholders.

Author

• Claire Evans, King County Metro Transit
  Presenting Author