Introducing on-schedule multi-stop and on-demand point-to-point waterborne transport services

Road-based transport causes severe greenhouse gas emissions, traffic congestion, and high energy consumption even after it is electrified. Besides, existing road networks cannot handle the substantially increasing travel demand in highly populated cities. Alternatively, waterborne transport offers a more sustainable and environmentally friendly option for traveling across harbors, rivers, and canals to access waterfront destinations. To supplement existing ferry services shuttling between two points and increase overall patronage of waterborne transport, this study proposes to introduce on-schedule multi-stop and on-demand point-to-point waterborne transport services, and examines passengers’ selections among these options. A stated preference questionnaire survey was carried out, interviewing 692 ferry passengers about their travel decisions in hypothetical scenarios. The results of the discrete choice models indicated that fare, wait time for services, travel time of road-based transport/waterborne transport, and the number of intermediate stops significantly influence travelers’ decisions. Relevant transport policies and recommendations for enhancing the performance of waterborne transport services and promoting greener mobility are proposed.