Investigating willingness to pay towards shared e-bikes: A comparison of methods

IF 6.8 1区工程技术 Q1 ECONOMICS

Transportation Research Part A-Policy and Practice Pub Date : 2025-07-31 DOI:10.1016/j.tra.2025.104592

Hauke Reckermann, Sebastian L. Grüner, Matthias Kowald

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Bike-sharing systems (BSSs) are essential for mitigating carbon emissions associated with individual transportation and for enhancing spatial and mobility efficiency. Nonetheless, the full potential of BSSs remains untapped. The introduction of new services, such as rental e-bikes, presents the challenge of establishing optimal pricing strategies that balance revenue generation and market penetration. Different measurement approaches to find optimal prices exist. Our research addresses the willingness to pay (WTP) towards shared e-bikes among users and non-users of BSSs in order to address user and non-users of BSSs. Furthermore, two separate measurement approaches are utilized for the purpose of a methodological comparison.

Methods

Our research uses quantitative data from three surveys (n = 968) to calculate WTP of users and non-users of BSSs towards shared e-bikes. We employ van Westendorp’s Price Sensitivity Meter (PSM) and a multinomial logit (MNL) model based on discrete choice experiments (DCEs) to measure WTP and compare results.

Results

We find a strong price sensitivity towards e-bike rentals among users and non-users of BSSs. WTPs for a 30-minute e-bike rental measured with PSM range from €1.98 to €2.95 for users and from €1.40 to €2.85 for non-users. Comparing users only, MNL measurements broadly correspond to the PSM results, offering revenue-maximizing prices from €2.08 to €2.65 and competitiveness-oriented prices from €1.52 to €2.76 depending on the choice scenario. However, MNL results start to diverge from PSM results when considering more variance in the modal choice share for BSS.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that users and non-users of BSSs derive utility from e-bike rental and can be addressed at comparable prices. However, pricing depends on strategic goals. Our comparison of methods when measuring WTP suggests an overall comparability of PSM and MNL and highlights possible synergies. We also highlight the need for future research considering alternative choice modelling approaches, optimizing PSM data collection and subgroup comparisons.

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调查消费者购买共享电动自行车的意愿：方法比较

自行车共享系统（bss）对于减少与个人交通相关的碳排放以及提高空间和移动效率至关重要。尽管如此，bss的全部潜力仍未得到开发。新服务的引入，如租赁电动自行车，提出了建立平衡收入和市场渗透的最佳定价策略的挑战。存在不同的衡量方法来找到最优价格。我们的研究解决了共享单车用户和非共享单车用户对共享单车的支付意愿（WTP），以解决共享单车用户和非共享单车用户的问题。此外，为了进行方法学比较，采用了两种不同的测量方法。方法采用3次调查（n = 968）的定量数据，计算bss用户和非bss用户对共享电动自行车的WTP。我们采用van Westendorp的价格敏感性测量（PSM）和基于离散选择实验（DCEs）的多项logit （MNL）模型来测量WTP并比较结果。结果bss用户和非bss用户对电动自行车租赁具有较强的价格敏感性。使用PSM测量的30分钟电动自行车租赁的WTPs，用户为1.98欧元至2.95欧元，非用户为1.40欧元至2.85欧元。仅对用户进行比较，MNL的测量结果与PSM的结果大致相符，根据选择场景的不同，MNL提供了2.08欧元至2.65欧元的收入最大化价格和1.52欧元至2.76欧元的竞争力导向价格。然而，当考虑到BSS模态选择份额的更多方差时，MNL结果开始偏离PSM结果。结论bss的使用者和非使用者都从电动自行车租赁中获得了效用，并且可以通过比较的价格来解决。然而，定价取决于战略目标。我们对测量WTP的方法进行了比较，表明PSM和MNL的总体可比性，并强调了可能的协同作用。我们还强调需要考虑替代选择建模方法，优化PSM数据收集和亚组比较的未来研究。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Transportation Research Part A-Policy and Practice 工程技术-运输科技

CiteScore

13.20

自引率

7.80%

发文量

257

审稿时长

9.8 months

期刊介绍： Transportation Research: Part A contains papers of general interest in all passenger and freight transportation modes: policy analysis, formulation and evaluation; planning; interaction with the political, socioeconomic and physical environment; design, management and evaluation of transportation systems. Topics are approached from any discipline or perspective: economics, engineering, sociology, psychology, etc. Case studies, survey and expository papers are included, as are articles which contribute to unification of the field, or to an understanding of the comparative aspects of different systems. Papers which assess the scope for technological innovation within a social or political framework are also published. The journal is international, and places equal emphasis on the problems of industrialized and non-industrialized regions. Part A''s aims and scope are complementary to Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Part C: Emerging Technologies and Part D: Transport and Environment. Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review. Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. The complete set forms the most cohesive and comprehensive reference of current research in transportation science.