Willingness to wait with real-time crowding information in urban public transport – before vs. after COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Passenger overcrowding is a major problem influencing travel behaviour in urban public transport (PT). Its relevance has been presumably shaped by the covid-19 pandemic impacts, which have to be yet fully understood. Real-time crowding information (RTCI) is therefore potentially instrumental in the post-covid recovery of PT ridership. This study investigates the willingness to wait (WTW) to reduce overcrowding in urban PT, analysing pre- vs. post-covid travel behaviour attitudes. Ex-post stated-preference data and (subsequently estimated) choice models indicate, compared to pre-covid findings, a higher propensity to skip overcrowded services with RTCI on seats available in later departures, and lower utility of RTCI on moderately crowded services. The WTW with RTCI seems to have become less dependent on individual characteristics and more prominent for time-critical (obligatory) trips as well. Implications of these findings are discussed in final study sections.