Demographic Analysis of Route Choice for Public Transit

The objective of this study was to understand the behavioral differences between various demographic categories in their choice of public transit route. Until now, almost all models have been done for the population as a whole, but this study attempted categorical choice models. The origin-destination survey in the greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada, area was used. For each trip declared, a route choice set was made and then a descriptive analysis was performed. A discrete choice model was applied for six demographic profiles, made up of two genders and three age cohorts. The results showed different coefficients for various profiles. The categorical models could better predict the behavior of individuals compared with the complete model that treated the whole population. Given the issues of aging populations in developed countries, the findings provide a new and vast insight into the future of modeling route choice for public transit.