Step versus slope model for valuing waiting time unreliability

Abstract

This work addresses the problem of designing the choice experiment to test the way public transport passengers perceive unreliability. Two methods from the scheduling family of the reliability measurement functions are selected – step and slope model. Both of them have good arguments for being well suited to describing the decision making process of passengers, as well as both have been shown to be reducible to closed forms. However, there has been little research to guide practitioners in choosing between these two models.

This paper presents a reliable way of designing a stated choice experiment, which would allow deciding whether the perception of waiting time unreliability by passengers is closer to the step or the slope model. The design procedure is explained step-by-step, allowing future studies to replicate it. Then, the experimental design of the stated choice experiment is tested in simulations for the ability to distinguish between the step and slope model preferences. The results show acceptable model performance in several scenarios.