Random-Parameters Behavioral Models to Investigate Determinants of Perceived Safety in Railway Stations

Abstract

Recent studies have highlighted the existence of a gap between actual and perceived safety and have shown that feelings of insecurity can affect individuals? travel behavior before and during the journey. In this paper, a methodology is proposed for assessing determinants of travelers? perception of safety and security in railway stations. The methodological approach includes focus groups, stated preference (SP) surveys, and the estimation of behavioral models with fixed parameters (Binomial Logit) and random parameters (Mixed Logit). The estimation results for a medium-sized railway station (Frosinone, Italy) confirmed that safety and security measures are not equally perceived by individuals and the use of random-parameters models leads to more robust estimates. The proposed modeling approach allows the identification of the interventions that should be prioritized to increase travelers? perceived levels of safety, highlighting those factors, such as, for the considered case study, the presence of security personnel and the level of decorum and maintenance, which are perceived by users as more important than others (e.g., surveillance cameras).