Introduction:

The perception of comfort in public bus transport is heterogeneous like the diversity of its users, and the choice of travel in such a mode of transport is a process that reflects different user attitudes, among which are its socioeconomic characteristics. Relating features of the user and their perceived level of comfort can be estimated by statistical and logistical methods in order to determine the probability of choosing the mode.

Method:

Based on the origin-destination survey, applied in the urban area of Querétaro, and considering that the generalized cost of car travel is lower than that of public bus transport, this research shown a procedure to the estimation of attributes for both modes. For example, one side, a process for obtaining the attribute of comfort on public bus transport and on the other, a generalized cost index for the automobile.

Results:

In the estimated models, the attribute of the transport modes, under the reported procedure, reflects a lower probability of choosing the private car if the public bus transport have a higher level of comfort. In addition, considering the intrinsic relationship in the car attribute, the more similar the generalized cost of public transportation and that of the automobile, closer to zero and the lower utility the car raises, thus ruling the attribute of comfort in the public bus transport.

Discussion or Conclusion:

It is found that the perception of comfort on public bus transport is related to the choice of such modes. Regarding the car attribute, the indicator presented shows that the lower the generalized cost of car travel and the greater the cost of the bus, which generates a greater likelihood of choosing the first mode. The above, considered for cities such as that of the case study, in which the generalized cost of cars (regarding the above parameters) will be less than the generalized cost of public transportation, mainly due to total travel time.