School of Transportation, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
PLoS One. 2023 Feb 6;18(2):e0279058. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279058. eCollection 2023.
Flex-route transit (FRT) has significant advantages in low-demand areas. Existing studies have focused on practical experience, strategic planning, and operational planning. Few studies have addressed the effect of sociodemographic and psychological latent characteristics on the acceptance of FRT. This study aims at exploring the effect of sociodemographic and psychological latent characteristics on FRT acceptance. To finish the goal, a household survey is conducted from April to May 2020 in Nanjing, China. The survey includes sociodemographic characteristics and observed variables of individuals. Firstly, the study extracts six psychological latent characteristics to reflect individuals' attitudes based on previous and mature researches in the field of technology acceptance model (TAM) and theory of planned behavior (TPB). Then, a multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) is applied to calculate six psychological latent characteristics. Finally, an integrated model, consisting of the MIMIC and a binary logit model (BLM), is applied to match sociodemographic and psychological latent characteristics. The BLM with sociodemographic characteristics is developed as the reference model to compare the effects of psychological latent characteristics. Results show that psychological latent factors play a significant role in estimating the effect on FRT acceptance. Results of the integrated model show that the parameter of car is -0.325, displaying individuals with private cars are more reluctant to use FRT. Therefore, restricting private cars is an effective measure to facilitate FRT. Improving flexibility (0.241) is a significant measure to facilitate FRT. Findings are expected to facilitate decision-making of transport planners and engineers, and therefore enhance the service of the FRT system.
灵活路径出行（FRT）在低需求地区具有显著优势。现有研究主要集中在实际经验、战略规划和运营规划方面。很少有研究涉及社会人口统计学和心理潜在特征对 FRT 接受度的影响。本研究旨在探讨社会人口统计学和心理潜在特征对 FRT 接受度的影响。为了实现这一目标，我们于 2020 年 4 月至 5 月在中国南京进行了一项家庭调查。调查包括个人的社会人口统计学特征和观察变量。首先，该研究基于技术接受模型（TAM）和计划行为理论（TPB）领域的先前和成熟研究，提取了六个心理潜在特征来反映个体的态度。然后，应用多指标多原因（MIMIC）来计算六个心理潜在特征。最后，应用综合模型，包括 MIMIC 和二元逻辑回归模型（BLM），来匹配社会人口统计学和心理潜在特征。BLM 与社会人口统计学特征一起作为参考模型来比较心理潜在特征的效果。结果表明，心理潜在因素在估计对 FRT 接受度的影响方面起着重要作用。综合模型的结果表明，汽车的参数为-0.325，这表明拥有私家车的个体更不愿意使用 FRT。因此，限制私家车是促进 FRT 的有效措施。提高灵活性（0.241）是促进 FRT 的重要措施。研究结果有望为交通规划者和工程师的决策提供便利，从而提高 FRT 系统的服务水平。
