A Public Transportation Decision-Making Model within a Metropolitan Area

Understanding the decision-making factors associated with public transportation is essential in strategic development of public transportation to improve acceptance and utilization of mass transit systems. This research analyzes factors affecting attitudes toward public transportation and the choice of transportation mode by investigating the public transportation decision-making process of working professionals using a survey methodology. The objectives of this research are to model the transportation decision-making process of public transportation users in a metropolitan area and to determine key factors that affect the public transportation choices made by potential public transportation users. This study contributes to the literature by developing and testing an integrated theoretical framework for modeling an individual's public transportation decision-making process using four independent variables: Perceived Public Transportation Security, Knowledge, Price, and Convenience. We develop the proposed theoretical framework based upon the extant literature and tested it using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Based on the Theory of Reasoned Action, the Theory of Planned Behavior, and utility theory, we develop the factors and refine associated items using confirmatory factor analysis. [Submitted: October 13, 2014. Revised: September 10, 2015. Accepted: September 13, 2015.]