Analysis of Inland Mode Choice Decisions and Travel Characteristics of Air Passengers: A Case Study in Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA)

The study delves into understanding the inland travel behaviour pattens of air passengers and estimate their respective mode choice parameters. Data collection process involved conducting face to face survey with both arrival and departure air passengers at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). Multinomial Logit (MNL)modelling approach was adopted for the estimation of mode choice probabilities of the selected parameters. RStudio platform was utilized for the parameter estimation. For the study, total travel time, travel cost and distance were considered as main parameters and estimated under the utility maximization theory. Total travel time and travel cost were found as significant parameters while total travel time was the most significant. The study concluded that the air passengers have given more priority on travel time than travel cost or distance when choosing an inland travel mode for reaching and leaving the airport. Estimated Alternative Specific Constants (ASCs) confirmed that self-arranged car is the most preferable option followed by Uber/PickMe taxi services and private taxis. Meanwhile, van/jeep has become the less preferred option in comparison with the public bus.