eprintid: 10065059
rev_number: 34
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/10/06/50/59
datestamp: 2019-01-07 14:07:10
lastmod: 2021-10-06 22:11:51
status_changed: 2019-07-19 15:23:06
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Anciaes, PR
creators_name: Metcalfe, P
creators_name: Heywood, C
creators_name: Sheldon, R
title: The impact of fare complexity on rail demand
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B04
divisions: C05
divisions: F44
keywords: rail demand, rail pricing, fare complexity, fare simplification, inter-urban travel, stated preference
note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
abstract: The current rail fare structure in the UK is widely considered to be complex. It offers flexibility by including many different types of tickets but it can also cause confusion, which may lead some to a negative view towards rail travel and thereby potentially inhibit demand, in comparison to a simpler fare regime. This study used an innovative stated preference survey to quantify the demand effects of fare complexity, focusing on Advance tickets (those that are restricted to a particular train service). The choice experiment was designed to mirror very closely the actual booking experience when buying tickets online, in all its complexity. Participants could choose among up to 531 different ticket type combinations for the outward and return legs of a trip and from up to 25 possible train services for each leg. The key design attribute was complexity, defined as the range of different Advance tickets on offer. The survey was applied to a sample of 1,027 users and 179 non-users of the rail network on the Lon on-Leeds route. The modelling of the choices with a nested mixed logit model suggested that, all else equal, reducing complexity by removing Advance tickets would lead to a substantial reduction of demand (11% to 45%, depending on route segment). Equalizing the price of Advance tickets for all train services was predicted to cause a smaller reduction (3-6%). By contrast, increasing complexity by adding new Flexible Advance tickets (valid on the services immediately before or after the chosen service) would increase demand by 4-15%. These findings run counter to the hypothesis that simplifying the fare structure would lead to increases in demand for rail travel.
date: 2019-02
date_type: published
publisher: Elsevier
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.12.020
oa_status: green
full_text_type: other
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 1614247
doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2018.12.020
lyricists_name: Anciaes, Paulo
lyricists_id: PRANC25
actors_name: Waragoda Vitharana, Nimal
actors_id: NWARR44
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
volume: 120
pagerange: 224-238
issn: 0965-8564
citation:        Anciaes, PR;    Metcalfe, P;    Heywood, C;    Sheldon, R;      (2019)    The impact of fare complexity on rail demand.                   Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice , 120    pp. 224-238.    10.1016/j.tra.2018.12.020 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.12.020>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10065059/9/Anciaes%20et%20al%202019%20The%20impact%20of%20fare%20complexity%20on%20rail%20demand.pdf