Institute of Transportation, MOTC

       The inflexibility of the fixed-timetable and fixed-route mode of traditional demand responsive transit services (DRTS) makes it difficult to improve the service level in rural areas. To address this issue, the Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC) has launched a new type of DRTS, local-sharing DRTS, in Hualian county and Taidong county since 2018. The new service,which uses local residents’ vehicles as the main modal, may be configured to depart on-demand or by appointment, or may be configured to depart at pre-determined or regular times. It is more flexible than traditional DRTS. The development of the local-sharing DRTS is still in the infant stage, so it is free for the users. If the authorities decide to charge the users for the new service, it is very important to understand the users’ willingness to pay for the service.
       In this study, we use contingent valuation method to design local-sharing DRTS bidding situations to investigate the users’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) of local-sharing DRTS. WTP validating using OLS regression and interval regression are conducted using the questionnaire surveys of the local-sharing
DRTS potential users of local residents living in Jianshi and Tai’an Township. 311 valid questionnaires are collected. The results of the empirical analysis indicate that gender, age, income, and the importance of safe driving and fares all have significant impacts on WTP of local residents. The WTP of local residents estimated by OLS regression and interval regression and are NT$42 and $40, respectively. The findings of this study can be applied to pricing and service design of local-sharing DRTS.