Modeling and analyzing of family intention for the customized student routes: A case study in China

Abstract In China, the emergence of new school travel mode using customized student routes has effectively alleviated the burden of most family considering children transportation. However, since such mode is still in the exploratory stage, it is urgent to analyze family intention for such school travel services. In this study, a whole theoretical framework considering travel constraint and “service quality-satisfaction-behavior” is constructed to explore the choice intention of parents. The structural equation modeling is firstly applied to analyze households demand towards customized student routes from four dimensions: travel constraints, low satisfaction, service quality and household influences. The family intention features were then collected from 545 household survey questionnaires in Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province, China. Finally, the parameters in the model are calibrated, and the validation of model application is further tested based on survey results. Interestingly, it is found that Chinese households tend to show more concerns about basic service functions of customized student routes than personalized services such as online appointment and payment functions. In addition, it is discovered that low satisfaction with current school travel modes and travel constraints exert great impacts on households’ choice intention for customized student routes while characteristics of household, such as household income expressed a moderating effect on the relationship between low satisfaction and behavior intention and the proportion of non-workers in household and the presence of elderly people in household expressed a moderating effect on the relationship between travel constraints and behavior intention. Those conclusions will provide theoretical basis for the policy makers in making relevant policies about school bus management.

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