Operational Models, Drivers’ Compensation, and Bus Service Quality in Bangkok

This paper explores how operational models and compensation methods are associated with bus drivers’ incentives and consequently bus service quality and safety in Bangkok. We cross-analyze data on bus drivers’ compensation collected from a structured interview survey with data on passenger complaints and bus accidents compiled from governmental databases. Recognizing that the official statistics on bus accidents in Bangkok are undercounted, as the government includes only accidents with severe damages and injuries, we use passenger complaints as the proxy for safety levels. We find that private joint-service operators provide their drivers with far less compensation and benefits than the state-owned operator. The private operators also tie drivers’ compensation and benefit levels to the numbers of working hours and trips, especially on routes where private operators can compete freely. These compensation methods incentivize drivers to work long hours beyond what is permitted by law, inducing fatigue and potential accidents. The key policy implication is that the bus policy aiming to improve service quality and safety should improve drivers’ compensation and working conditions

Analyzing Human, Roadway, Vehicular and Environmental Factors Contributing to Fatal Road Traffic Crashes in Thailand

The objectives of this research were to investigate the contributions of risk factors to fatal injuries of severe crash victims and analyze the potential causes of traffic fatalities in Thailand.  Two binary logistic regression models were proposed.  The first model was conducted for investigating and comparing the impacts among the risk factors.  The second model was conducted for further comparing the influence of each category within each factor.  The results showed that exceeding the speed limit was the major cause of fatal crashes, especially for motorcycle riders.  The odds of death in a crash increased with age.  Males were more associated with fatal crashes than females; however, drunk females were more likely to die in crashes.  Drunk road users in pick-ups and cars possessed the greatest odds of being fatal crash victims.  Better lighting conditions improved safety.  Rough and slippery roadway surfaces during the rain greatly increased the fatal risk.  Curves on urban streets and local roads induced the greatest fatal risks, followed by conflict points on local roads. Conflict points were the most hazardous locations for drunk road users in accidents.  These findings give the policy makers some insights on what traffic safety aspects to improve for reducing the number of traffic fatalities.&nbsp

Urban congestion and the development of employment subcenter

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-73).by Saksith Chalermpong.M.S

How Vehicle Types and Operator’s Legal Status Affect Safety of Interprovincial Buses in Thailand

In urgent response to an unenvied label as the world’ second worst road safety record, the Thai government has begun to ban the use of vans and double-decker buses for intercity bus services and is considering to change the legal status requirement of entities applying for bus operating licenses. This paper examines whether the empirical evidence justifies such policy directions. We use the Poisson and Negative Binomial regression models to examine whether vehicle types and legal status affect safety risks of intercity bus services, focusing on interprovincial routes outside Bangkok. The results confirm that the use of vans and double-decker buses significantly increases fatality risks of interprovincial bus services. But the results produce no evidence to support the claim that formal legal entities provide safer operation. While banning specific vehicle types for bus services is the right policy, our results caution that simply requiring bus operators to obtain formal legal status may not help improve safety performance. More effective policy options should focus on operational characteristics and vehicle standards

User Characteristics and Effectiveness of a Park and Ride Facility in Bangkok

An experimental project was initiated in Bangkok in 2015 to set up Park and Ride facilities near transit stations as part of an effort to encourage transit use. Incentives were offered to prospective users, including free one-month trial and free transit trips. This paper provides evidence on user characteristics of one of the facilities and its effectiveness in time savings and reducing car travel. After the free-trial period ended, approximately 45% of the users discontinued their use. The results from interview surveys of both continuing and discontinued users confirm time savings and reduction in car travel for a majority of users who had relied solely on cars before the modal shift. But car travel distance increased for users who previously drove to other facilities or used public transport to access transit stations. The catchment area is found to be 23.6 km. We also developed a logistic regression model of the decision to continue using the facility even after the trial period. The modeling results imply that travel time and driving distance before and after using Park and Ride clearly influence decision-making. Users with longer travel time and driving distance before using Park and Ride tend to continue using the facility

Economic Spillovers of Highway Investment: A Case Study of the Employment Impacts of Interstate 105 in Los Angeles County

Most economists agree that new investments in highways at this point in time in the United States have little impact on overall growth in output. New highways play a more important role in shifting economic activities among places, drawing jobs from other locations into the highway corridors, a phenomenon known as negative spillovers. The objective of this dissertation is two-fold, to examine the proposal to decentralize highway finance, which aims to solve the financial responsibility mismatch problem that stems from economic spillovers of highways, and to test the hypothesis of economic spillovers of highway investment at the metropolitan level. First, to better understand how spillovers influence the highway investment decision, the theoretical framework from the interjurisdictional tax competition literature is borrowed to model governments' investment behaviors. Numerical simulations show that decentralized local governments, which independently maximize output in their own jurisdiction, may engage in wasteful investments in highways with the presence of spillovers. Second, to shed more light on the spatial detail of economic spillovers, empirical tests of the spillover hypothesis are conducted at the metropolitan level, with census tracts as the unit of observation. The results of the quasi-experiment reveal census tract employment growth patterns that confirm the existence of negative spillovers caused by the opening of the Interstate 105 in 1993. The benefiting area, which grew substantially after the highway was opened, is limited to a long narrow corridor around the highway, while nearby locations outside the corridor experienced slow growth relative to the rest of the metropolitan area after controlling for various factors. Together, these results suggest that although negative spillovers are present at the metropolitan level, decentralizing highway finance may not be an effective policy to deal with the financial responsibility mismatch problem. Highway finance should remain centralized within metropolitan areas, and regional governing bodies should pay special attention to the distributional impact of highway projects

Rail Transit and Residential Land Use in Developing Countries: Hedonic Study of Residential Property Prices in Bangkok, Thailand

The effects of public transit improvements on residential land use in general, and on residential property prices in particular, have not been well investigated in developing countries. Such an understanding is necessary for the formulation of value capture policies, which can be instrumental in the financing of transit infrastructure. In this paper past studies on the effect of transit improvements on property prices in developing countries are reviewed, and the hedonic models are developed to examine this relationship in Bangkok, Thailand. Spatial regression models are estimated with data on multifamily residential properties near the Bangkok transit system’s stations. Estimation results show that the premium of transit accessibility is approximately $10 for every meter closer to a station, and the price elasticity with respect to the distance to the nearest station is roughly −0.09. These findings are consistent with the range found in past studies from other developing countries. The substantial premium of transit accessibility implies that there is a great potential for the use of value capture policies to raise additional funds for investments in Bangkok’s transit system

A meta-analytic review of the association between the built environment and integrated usage of rail transport and bike-sharing

This meta-analytic review explores the association between the built environment (BE) and the integrated usage of rail transport and bike-sharing (RTBS). The RTBS refers to the combined utilization of both modes (rail and bike-sharing) of transportation within a single journey or trip, allowing individuals to seamlessly switch between rail transit and bicycles for enhanced accessibility and convenience. The study aims to identify the specific BE factors and sub-factors that have a significant impact on RTBS, the direction of this influence, and the most consistently linked BE variable to RTBS. The findings reveal that land use, population and employment density, intersections, branch roads, number of public transportation (PT) stops and stations, PT located in suburban areas, bikeways, and distance to the central business district (CBD) significantly impact RTBS, while housing density does not. Among these BE variables, distance to the CBD is the most consistently significant predictor of RTBS. The study also indicates that employment density has a more significant impact on the integrated usage of dockless bike-sharing and rail transport compared to docked bike-sharing systems. The study identifies high heterogeneity in all BE-RTBS relationships and further investigates the possible causes of these discrepancies. The study did not find evidence of publication bias affecting the meta-analysis results. This study extends the existing literature by providing a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the role of BE in shaping RTBS, which is useful for policymakers and practitioners in the transportation sector

How Land Use Affects Station Access Behaviors of Bus Rapid Transit Passengers in Bangkok, Thailand

This paper provides empirical evidence on ways commuters access bus rapid transit (BRT) stations in Bangkok, Thailand. It is hypothesized that land use characteristics in areas near BRT stations affect passengers’ travel behavior, particularly the station access portion of the trip. The authors conducted interview surveys of BRT commuters and another survey of land use and transport network characteristics around BRT stations. It was found that the three most widely used modes of access were walking, motorcycle taxi, and bus, with average access distances of 373, 1,040, and 7,076 m, respectively. In addition, the logistic regression technique was used to model walking access mode choice as a function of land use characteristics around stations where passengers boarded the BRT, controlling socioeconomic and trip characteristics. It was found that land use characteristics, including residential, commercial, service, retail, and financial land use intensity in BRT station areas, affected passengers’ tendency to walk to BRT stations. The extent of the catchment area and the determinants of travel behavior have important implications for land use and transportation policies that aim to promote transit-oriented development, particularly those that allow for greater building density around transit stations

New Highways, Urban Development and Induced Travel

We examine the link between highways and urban development, by employing both hedonic analysis and multiple sales techniques to study the impact on house prices of the construction of toll roads in Orange County, California. Urban economic theory predicts that if highways improve accessibility, that accessibility premium will be reflected in higher land prices. Our empirical analyses of house sales prices provide strong evidence that the toll roads, the Foothill Transportation Corridor in particular, created an accessibility premium - homebuyers are willing to pay for the increased access that the new roads provided. Such willingness to pay influences both development patterns and, potentially induced traffic. The results are consistent with the idea that induced travel is caused, in part, by changes in urban development patterns that are linked to increases in highway capacity