Effective Factors in Light Rail Transit Modal Shift of Tarbiat Modares University Student’s Educational Trips

Regarding the increasing intra-city trips and congestion on the streets and highways, governments are thinking of introducing a new transportation system or improving existing systems. To reduce the negative impacts of transportation as well as increasing reliability, the development of sustainable rail transport systems has been the focus of many developed and developing countries. The initial investment and high operating costs of rail systems are a major financial challenge for transport organizations, and it is essential to identify travelers' behavior and preference before introducing the new system. This study aims to model the modal shift to light rail transit (LRT) in the case of educational trips and identify the effective factors. In this Regard, a stated preference questionnaire consist of four parts icluding travel characteristics, attitude characteristics, number of modes used per week and individual characteristics was designed and 407 students were interviewed as the sample size at Tarbiat Modarres University on May 2018. Estimated coefficients of eight binary logit models indicate that there are several factors with different level of sifnificance in exolaining the modal shift from existing travel modes to LRT. Major finding shows, a 20% reduction in fare, a 50% reduction in seating time, and a 20% reduction in LRT travel time compared to the last individual mode used have the most impact on increasing utility and modal shift to LRT, respectively. Results are applicable to facilitate policymakers' decision-making and planning in future transportation systems and determining appropriate policies to increase LRT's utility.