Activity-end access/egress modal choices between stations and campuses located on a hillside

Abstract This study investigates activity-end access/egress modal choices between railway stations and university campuses where topographical factors play an important role. Four campuses of Kobe University, Kobe, Japan are located close to three railway stations. The stations and campuses are 1.1–3.9 km apart, and the campuses are approximately 70–195 m higher in altitude than the stations. An online questionnaire survey was given to students to elicit their current modal choices and preferences for hypothetical direct bus services. An analysis compared the aggregate data and estimated the discrete choice models. The topographical factors of distance and altitude affected the mode choices when travelling uphill but not when travelling downhill. However, distance, not altitude, determined if walking was included in the choice set. One striking reason for occasional walking rather than taking a bus was to meet friends who walked to campuses. The reasons for using the same mode for the same direction differ when the respondents used different modes in the opposite direction. The value of time for uphill walkers is extremely small compared to that for uphill bus riders, suggesting that the direct bus services recently introduced by Kobe City's Bureau of Transport are attractive to current bus riders.