Analysis of departure time choice behaviour of MRT commuters

• Main Author: Lim, Clara ShiJun.
• Other Authors: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/53909
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The study of the commuters’ departure time choice behaviour has been recognised as an important factor and concern for transport researchers in determining behavioural pattern for transport planning purposes to obtain optimal efficiency. This is an extremely important factor with regards to the public transport, where the morning and evening peak period crowd in Singapore are the largest which always exceeds the capacity in which the public transport can provide for. This inevitably leads to overcrowding onboard the public transport and on the waiting platform as well. This situation post a bigger problem for the commuters during the morning peak period when they are rushing off to their workplace and any delay experienced might result in being late for work. This study focuses on the departure time choice behaviour of commuters, who are faced with recent unreliable train service and overcrowding, with regards to the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train system in Singapore during the morning peak period. Unreliable train service also plays a major role in travel decision behaviour as it can influence a commuter’s perception of travelling time and thus affecting the commuters’ departure time choice behaviour. A survey with 135 respondents are conducted with the aim of finding out more about the commuter’s current departure time choice behaviour and what is their experiences in encountering minor delays or major disruptions during the morning peak period. The survey also serves to help further understand the commuter’s opinions regarding the ‘Early Travel Discount’ scheme, currently provided by SMRT and the commuter’s feedback with regards to their departure time choices in response to hypothetical questions of the implementation of the ‘Flexible Working Hours’ policy in their companies. Field study observation are conducted on the basic concept of the scheduling approach, which focuses on the arrival time of the MRT trains at each stations, be it an early arrival or a late arrival. From the arrival time data at each station, onboard travel time in between stations can be determined and comparisons can be made with respect to the original travel timetable provided by the MRT operators. This observation serves to help verify the onboard travelling time stated by the survey respondents and to gain further insights on the type of problems which prevent the commuters from experiencing a smoother and pleasant train journey to their designated stations. This project study also covers a small section regarding the commuter’s route choice behaviour as it is also deemed as another important factor in determining behavioural pattern of commuters for efficient transport planning. Therefore, the factors affecting the commuter’s route choice behaviour are explored, to further understand which factors are considered the most important for the commuters in deciding their routes to their designated stations.