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Exploring passenger anxiety associated with train travel

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Abstract

Although people are often encouraged to use public transportation, the riding experience is not always comfortable. This study uses service items to measure passenger anxieties by applying a conceptual model based on the railway passenger service chain perspective. Passenger anxieties associated with train travel are measured using a modern psychometric method, the Rasch model. This study surveys 412 train passengers. Analytical results indicate that the following service items cause passenger anxiety during trains travel: crowding, delays, accessibility to a railway station, searching for the right train on a platform, and transferring trains. Empirical results obtained using the Rasch approach can be used to derive an effective strategy to reduce train passenger anxiety. This empirical study also demonstrates that anxiety differs based on passenger sex, age, riding frequency, and trip type. This information will also prove useful for transportation planners and policy-makers when considering the special travel needs of certain groups to create a user-friendly railway travel environment that promotes public use.

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Acknowledgments

The author of this paper sincerely acknowledges the valuable suggestions of three anonymous reviewers, which have immensely helped to enhance the quality of the paper over its earlier version. The author thanks the National Science Council (NSC) of Taiwan, ROC, for financially supporting this research. Ms. Yu-Chun Tsai is appreciated for her assistance in data collection and processing.

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  1. Department of Transportation and Communication Management Science, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City, 701, Taiwan, ROC

    Yung-Hsiang Cheng

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Cheng, YH. Exploring passenger anxiety associated with train travel. Transportation 37, 875–896 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-010-9267-z

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