Freight shipper’s mode choice preference for sustainable inland transportation

Modelling of transport mode choice preferencehas beencurrently regarded essential to identify the preference of transport agents towards a transport policy. This research proposes a model of the freight mode choice preference by using Stated Preference Methods for the data collection from industrial freight shippers in Gresik, Indonesia. This research examines how truck as an existing mode and rail as a sustainable mode alternative compete for goods movement. As the common feature of discrete choice models, the Binary Logit was utilized to analyze the data. The sensitivity of mode preferences was investigated by changing the shipping cost and hauling time. The results indicated that the respondents were sensitive to haul time and shipping cost. When the shipping cost and hauling time was similar, the probability of choosing a truck was 77%. However, the industrial freight shippers changed the preference when the truck’s shipping cost and haul time was higher than that in the train. The train had a 65% choosing probability when the cost difference was IDR 500,000 lower and the hauling time difference was two days faster than the truck. This study assisted the policymakers to correctly design the variables of shipping cost and hauling time for the future sustainable inland transportation based on freight shipper’s preferences.

Behavioural Biases Distorting the Demand for Environmentally Friendly Freight Transport Modes: An Overview and Potential Measures

A basic assumption of many scientific theories on the topic of decision making is rational behaviour. However, previous authors assume the existence of behavioural biases in freight transport which impede rational decision making. Hardly any research exists on behavioural biases in freight transport. To address this gap, we carry out a systematic literature review on the influencing factors of freight mode choice and provide empirical evidence for the occurrence of behavioural biases in the logistics sector. Fifteen logistics service providers and six shippers are involved in interviews and a focus group to understand their mode choice process and derive information on the existence of behavioural biases. Several biases showed to exist in the practical decision-making process. For example, decision makers tend to avoid complex options (principle of least effort), they stick to already tried and tested options (status quo bias, zero-risk bias) and they tend to make decisions based on immediate and easily accessible information (availability bias). These biases distort the demand for sustainable freight transport. We therefore conclude with several motivational, cognitive and technological debiasing strategies to reduce the negative impact of behavioural biases in freight transport.

An Intercity Freight Mode Choice Model : A Case Study of High Speed Rail Link Northern Line Thailand (Bangkok – Chiangmai)

This paper presents a model capturing the intercity freight mode choice behaviour in high-speed rail system from Bangkok to Chiangmai. The model is developed based on the stated preference data collected from 800 freight operators, wholesaler, retailer, and people. The results show that, when the high-speed rail system from Bangkok to Chiangmai are developing in the future, the suitable products for high-speed rail system are types of an express mail service (EMS), air cargo, gold, jewellery, gold accessories, computer circuit boards, high prices agricultural products such as fruit, and flowers. Most of determining the selling price will fluctuate with the speed of transport and damage impairment of the product. With the application of discrete choice models, the results show that, aside from travel cost and time, loading and unloading, delays time, frequency are statistically significant. The application of model indicated that the holder and freight forwarder which in the line of high-speed rail (Bangkok – Chiangmai) tend to use rail-transport such as double-track rail is 27.71%, high-speed rail is 11.18% and the most is trucks 56.51% which is a policy development point loading and unloading, multimodal transportation efficiency and safety of the portion of the freight high-speed rail increased.

Effects of Travel Time Reliability and Commodity Characteristics on Hinterland Leg Transportation of Export Containers

Increasing the mode share of railway in hinterland leg containers transportation requires a better understanding about the effects of critical factors on shippers’ mode choices. This paper focuses on the effects of travel time reliability (TTR) and commodity characteristics on freight mode choice. A two-stage survey is conducted in the Yiwu-Port of Ningbo corridor, China, to collect shippers’ preference data. Five model specifications are estimated using these data. Estimation results of generic parameters indicate that significant interaction effects between commodity characteristics and travel time exist. The value of generic reliability was then calculated and the effects of commodity characteristics was quantified. In addition, mode-specific values of reliability are estimated. Remarkable differences are found in the mode-specific value of reliability for different modes. Also, the effects of mode-specific value of reliability on the demand forecasting were investigated. Results imply that the mode share of railway will be underestimated if the mode-specific value of reliability is neglected, especially when travel time of railway transportation is reliable. Therefore, it is recommended that the mode-specific willingness-to-pay should be considered in railway demand forecasting and project appraisals.