Would free park-and-ride with a free shuttle service attract car drivers?

This study examines the potential of free park-and-ride facilities alongside free shuttle services on fast lanes to attract car users. The paper is based on a case study of the “fast lane”, a high-occupancy toll road (HOT) to Tel Aviv, inaugurated on January 2011 in order to ease congestion at the highly congested entrance to Tel Aviv by giving priority to public transportation (busses) and high occupancy vehicles. This unique facility combines a free park-and-ride facility, a fast lane, and a shuttle service running on the fast lane. The aim of our questionnaire-based study was to determine whether this facility creates a viable alternative to private car owners as a means of transport to Tel Aviv. We also sought to identify factors that trigger private-car drivers to shift to the shuttle as a means of transport. Better understanding of these factors may potentially assist transportation experts, planners, and policy-makers in promoting new and better programs to boost public transport. Our results indicate that about 50% of the current facility users shifted from commuting by car, while most of the others shifted from other means of public transportation. Commuters from Tel Aviv's metropolitan region are the majority of potential users, and the service is mainly required during the morning rush hours. A combination of attributes, including free access to the fast lane, time saving, cost saving, and a relaxed ride, make this service attractive, but time saving is a significant predictor for using the shuttle. However, the results indicate that the facility is also attracting public transportation users to shift to multi-mode travel, where a car is used to commute to the park-and-ride facility.