Modeling Preference for School Bus Service in Dhaka,Bangladesh

This paper analyzes the factors that affect the choice of school buses in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the 11th largest city in the world. A multinomial logit mode choice model for school trips was developed with stated preference (SP) surveys of parents of students from a premier school zone. The design of the SP survey was challenging in several aspects, including the lack of background data on school traffic, the wide range of motorized and nonmotorized modes available for school trips, and the substantial heterogeneity in the levels of service of the various modes. A focus group was therefore conducted first, and the preliminary information was used to design the final SP survey, a paper survey based on fractional factorial design. The results show that for school buses, there are strong cost and time sensitivities as well as a significant preference for increased comfort levels. Significant market segmentation also exists for households that have high incomes, mothers who do not work outside the home, or both. The results are expected to help the Dhaka Transport Coordination Board formulate policies pertaining to school buses. The findings can also be useful for other developing countries, especially those in Asia, which share similar socioeconomic patterns.