Passenger Transport Mode Shares in World Cities

Passenger transport mode share refers to the percentage of passenger journeys or trips by the main mode of transport and is typically reported through travel surveys. Comparing passenger transport mode share across different cities is a challenging task. As travel surveys are typically conducted for long-term strategic planning purpose, such surveys are not conducted frequently and detailed reports are not always published. The situation is further complicated as the surveys are often commissioned by local governments. The geographical areas covered, sampling and interviewing techniques, questionnaire and stratification methods deployed by travel surveys vary greatly in different countries. For example, the definition for a pedestrian trip or a public transport trip may be different in different countries. In cities like Hong Kong, mode share is based on the number of boardings by mode of transport (or journeystages). In most cities, however, mode share is reported on the basis of the number of journeys, which may consist of a series of boardings on different modes of transport and the main mode is reported as the transport mode.