EFFECTS OF TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS ON DEMAND OF PERSONAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN MULTI-MODAL TRANSIT NETWORK

Public transit is the major mode of transportation in Hong Kong. Due to the steady population growth, the demand on the multi-modal transit system is expected to increase over the years. Recently, the personal Public Transport Information Systems (PTIS) have been proposed for improving the service quality of the transit system. There is a need to investigate the potential demand of the personal PTIS in Hong Kong. In this paper, a structural equation model was used to identify passenger characteristics that significantly affect demand of the personal PTIS. Data on passenger's travel and demographic characteristics were gathered from a two-tire interview survey. The results showed that number of transfers, departure time, mobile telephone ownership, service charge and length of delay in receiving information have significant relationships with usage of the personal PTIS. The findings of this paper are compared with those of previous studies. The findings also suggested that a market does exist for the personal PTIS in Hong Kong with multi-modal transit system.