Understanding Factors that Influence Transit Users' Willingness to Make Transfers

The goal of any transit system is to provide a comfortable, safe, and accessible journey to the residents of a city. Many transport authorities are meeting this need by implementing integrated multimodal transit systems. An integrated multimodal system can be defined as a system in which all transit modes operate as "one unit." As such, transfers, both intermodal and intra-modal, are a key component of the operation. It has been well-documented that transit users are negatively disposed towards making transfers. Transfer penalty is a value that reflects the negative perceptions users have towards transfers and has been recognized by modelers and service planners as a key consideration in the ridership potential of a system. This article discusses the factors that can influence users' decisions to make transfers. It is important to understand why users have concerns with making transfers and how this can be addressed by transport authorities, such that users receive a transit service that is desirable to them.