Willingness to Pay For Travel Time Reliability in Freight Transportation: Evidence from the Florida Freight Survey
Corresponding Author: Kollol Shams, Florida International University
Presented By: Xia Jin, Florida International University
Abstract
This paper presents a study aims to understand how the freight industry value travel time reliability in their transportation decisions. A stated preference (SP) survey was conducted in Florida during February and May 2016. The survey collected information from 159 freight users, including shippers, carriers and third party logistic providers in order to quantify their choice preferences toward transportation related attributes (i.e. transportation time, cost and reliability).
Various modeling approaches were explored to address user heterogeneity (how their preferences differ among different groups), including mixed logit models. Particularly, value of time (VOT) and value of reliability (VOR) values were estimated based on the survey sample, for carriers, shippers with and without transportation, and forwarders separately. The analysis indicated that carriers showed the lowest willingness to pay (WTP) compared to other freight users. Preference heterogeneity was also explored by commodity group, product type and various other shipment characteristics, including shipping distance and weight. The results showed significant differences in WTP values when the heterogeneity sources were considered.
This study provides empirical evidence in quantifying VOR in road freight transportation and the impacts of user heterogeneity. The study results will help advance the understanding of the impacts of the performance of transportation systems on the freight industry. The findings of this paper would facilitate local, state, and national agencies in evaluating and prioritizing alternative investment and policy strategies that promote the best use of the freight transportation system and support the dynamic demand of the industries.
Committee: Freight Planning, Modeling, and Non-Freight Commercial Vehicle