Augmenting last-mile connectivity with multimodal transport: Do choice riders favor integrated bike taxi-bus service in metro cities?

While the pursuit of sustainable measures to arrest private vehicle usage and externalities continues, poor last-mile connectivity remains a major deterrent for choice riders (car owners) considering the use of public transport. The present study proposes an integrated Bike Taxi-Bus Service (BTBS) system as a solution to last-mile connectivity concerns and investigates the perception of choice riders towards BTBS. The research was carried out in two Indian metro cities, tier 1 (Bangalore) and tier 2 (Kochi), where bike taxi and bus services operate independently, albeit without integration. The study investigates the perception of choice riders in two stages. Firstly, to identify key intervention areas for the development of an integrated BTBS system. Secondly, to develop econometric models for the estimation of choice riders’ Willingness to Pay (WTP) for BTBS attributes and their potential shift in demand towards BTBS. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to explore the influence of various attributes on demand shift and to establish appropriate attribute levels to attract choice riders. While intervention areas are identified using Revised Importance Satisfaction Analysis (Revised ISA), Mixed Logit (ML) models are developed to estimate demand and WTP values. Unlike previous studies, intervention areas are identified using factor structure and management schemes. The study demonstrates the application of Revised ISA in attribute selection for econometric modelling. The work identified 50% of the listed attributes as intervention areas and notably higher WTP values of choice riders for BTBS attributes. This indicates the promise of BTBS while emphasizing the need for urgent attention.