PUBLIC TRANSPORT DEMAND ELASTICITIES IN DEVELOPING AGGLOMERATIONS: THE CASE OF TUNISIAN REGIONS

Authors

  • Lassaad Makhlouf

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2025-0008

Keywords:

Public Transport Demand, Fare Elasticity, Income Elasticity, Dynamic Panel Model

Abstract

This paper examined the characteristics of public transport demand
in some major Tunisian cities. It followed the research trend which
calculated the public transport demand elasticities. The adopted pro-
cedure in this study consists in estimating a log linear dynamic panel
model relating per capita bus patronage to bus fares, users’ income,
and service quality. Two variants of the basic model were estimated
for the most important Tunisian agglomerations for the period 2003 -
2020. In the first variant, this paper considered the same fare elasticity
value for the different regions, whereas in the second it’s proceeded to
the calculation of specific fare elasticity values for each region. The
estimation results show interesting and different elasticities compared
to those revealed by earlier studies for occidental agglomerations.
This result can be explained by specifics users’ characteristics and
networks’ configuration. Although these results may sometimes con-
tradict the theoretical suggestions, they still highlight the specificities
of the public transport demand in Tunisia and its users’ characteristics.
The demand for public transport in large Tunisian agglomerations is
not very sensitive to fares changes. Second, income does not have the
same effect as that advocated by economic theories. Indeed, we have
found a positive impact of income on demand for public transport. Fi-
nally, the quality of service has the most important effect on demand.
Changes in travel habits and cultures, improvements in the quality
of services and their differentiation can be more effective for public
transport than fares changes.

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Published

2024-12-04

How to Cite

Makhlouf, L. . (2024). PUBLIC TRANSPORT DEMAND ELASTICITIES IN DEVELOPING AGGLOMERATIONS: THE CASE OF TUNISIAN REGIONS. ECONOMICS - INNOVATIVE AND ECONOMICS RESEARCH JOURNAL, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2025-0008