Analysis of airport access mode choice: a case study in Hong Kong

The increasing demand on air traffic has resulted in a growing concern in ground access to the Hong Kong International Airport by the Airport Authority Hong Kong together with various types of transport operators. In this study, the ground access mode choices to the airport are examined with the objectives of categorising the service performance both expected and received by passengers. Focus is on air passengers departing Hong Kong, exclude arriving and transfer/transit passengers. In an attempt to understand their access mode choices, interview surveys have been conducted. A structural equation model has been calibrated to determine how various personal and trip characteristics affect departing air passengers' modal choices. Latent variables regarding departing air passengers' expectation and perception on selected service attributes of the modal choices are considered in the analysis. The gap between passengers' service expectations and the actual service perceived to be happening were examined, while importance-performance analysis was used to construct evaluation maps to identify those service attributes necessitating improvement. The results provide source information for various types of transport operators in their quest to improve their individual services and increase their share of the airport ground access market.