Catching the bus in Barcelona

Abstract

In our study, we seek to identify the basic factors in citizens’ decisions to regularly use public transportation, especially the decision to ride a bus in Barcelona, Spain. Our survey reveals that, contrary to other recent results, income is not a statistically significant factor in those decisions, whereas level of education and occupation are. Moreover, the effects of congestion emerge as a key factor in the decision to ride the bus regularly. Considering congestion’s impact on the likelihood of regularly using the bus transport system, regular commuters in the urban area and riders with a high level of education are more responsive to reductions in congestion. Those findings contribute to an important discussion about implementing public policies that support citizens’ use of public transportation systems in urban areas.