Tri-reference-point framework for analyzing air-rail passenger airport access behaviour

Abstract

This study introduces a tri-reference-point framework to analyze air-rail passengers' airport ground access behaviour, using advisory, earliest, and mandatory latest airport arrival times as key reference points. Leveraging revealed preference data from Dalian Airport in China, this model examines how deviations from instructive arrival timings, rather than total ground access time, influence passenger choices among available high-speed rail (HSR) options. Compared to the traditional multinomial logit (MNL) model, the proposed approach better captures these behaviours, showing that passengers prioritize timing relative to advisory intervals. This framework also provides insights into evaluating the suitability of HSR options for air-rail integrated services.