To switch travel mode or not? Impact of Smartphone delivered high‐quality multimodal information

Travellers' mode switch behaviour with the presence of high‐quality Smartphone delivered multimodal information (SMMI) seems to have rarely been addressed. This study investigated commuters’ en‐trip mode decision about switching from ‘auto’ to ‘park‐and‐ride’ (P + R) under high‐quality SMMI that provides travel time for both modes, delay for auto, cause of delay, P + R cost and comfort level of rail transit. It is based on a stated preference survey of Shanghai travellers. A binary logit model was developed to identify contributing factors that affect mode switching decisions. Results showed that SMMI can significantly influence mode choice and its impacts depend on traveller attributes, driver's previous experience, and level of service attributes. Statistically significant explanatory variables in the model are delay for auto, comfort level of rail transit, gender, education level, income, driving experience, driving frequency, main criterion of mode choice, owning an easy public transportation ride card, previous use of P + R, perceived value of existing real‐time traveller information and frequency of using real‐time traveller information. This study also developed a practical logit model that encompasses policy related explanatory variables to obtain policy implications for real application of SMMI services in Shanghai.