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Impacts of station accessibility and regional heterogeneity on HSR ridership

Providing sufficient station accessibility is essential for THSR due to the remote location of
stations. Obviously stations located in the CBD provide more access links than rural area.
In this paper, the access quality was measured as binary variables (e.g. If connected
with transit network, 1, or 0); For stations located within CBD’s we show that service
improvements to metro and local rail links that existed prior to THSR opening do not
appear to have an influence on THSR demand. However, for most of the THSR stations
located in peripheral locations and without any public transport access at the beginning
of HSR operation, the first access link connected would stimulate the station demand,
i.e. THSR shuttle buses (Hsinchu and Tainan) and BRT (Chiayi);. This is why the influence
of connectivity in case of bus system was derived more strongly than that of the rail
transit. This is the result in the same line with Li and Schmöcker (2014).

We argued that station accessibility affects on quality of rail travel in the beginning
of this paper. Nevertheless a lot of rail operators still have underestimated its impact.
Tentatively, we suggest that general accessibility through public transport is important,
but further improvements do not necessarily generate additional journeys. Further work
for this analysis could be much improved if panel data on modal split of how people
access HSR would be available as well as how much time to access to the station by mode.
From another point of view, as it is rapidly entering a super aging society, explanatory
variables capable of responding to changes in household structure and average age users
should also be considered in the model which explains the long-term demand of HSR.

7. References

• Li, Y.-T., Schmöcker, J.-D., and S. Fujii. (2015). Demand adaptation towards new
transport modes: the case of high-speed rail in Taiwan. Tansportmetrica B: Transport
Dynamics, 3(1), pp.27-43. DOI: 10.1080/21680566.2014.946456.

• Cheng, Y.-H. (2010). High-speed rail in Taiwan: New experience and issues for future
development. Transport Policy, 17, pp.51-63.

• Murray A.T. (2003). A Coverage Model for Improving Public Transit System Accessibility
and Expanding Access. Annals of Operations Research, 123, pp.143–156.

• Mitra, S. K., Saphores, J-D. M., (2016). The value of transportation accessibility in a
least developed country city – The case of Rajshahi City, Bangladesh. Transportation
Research Part A: Policy Practice, 89, pp.184-200.

• Cervero, R., Kang, C.D. (2011). Bus rapid transit impacts on land uses and land values
in Seoul, Korea. Transportation Policy, 18 (1), pp.102-116.

• Debrezion, G., de Graaff, T., Rietveld, P., (2011). The impact of accessibility on the value of
offices. In: Transitions Towards Sustainable Mobility. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp.41-57

• Dubé, J., Thériault, M., Des Rosiers, F., (2013). Commuter rail accessibility and house
values: the case of the Montreal South Shore, Canada, 1992–2009. Transportation
Research Part A: Policy Practice, 54, pp.49–66.

• Hine, J., Scott, J., (2000). Seamless, accessible travel: users’ views of the public
transport journey and interchange. Transport Policy, 7, pp.217–226.

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