Inter-city pre-trip information in Taiwan and its impacts on travelers' mode choice behavior

The purposes of this study are to investigate how travelers use pre-trip information in aid of choosing public transport modes (train, bus and air) for their inter-city trips, and to explore the possible effects of the uses of such pre-trip information on travelers' mode choice behavior. The results show that travelers in Taiwan rely much on the Internet and telephone to help search for or inquire about the pre-trip travel information, and even make bookings. However, the information they inquire about is quite limited to that on time table and fare, the two most important attributes in mode choice models. The estimation results of mode choice models show that quite a few variables associated with the uses of pre-trip travel information have significant impacts on travelers' mode choice behavior, those associated with the Internet in particular.