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OCR for page 136
136 Ground Access to Major Airports by Public Transportation
Geographic Distribution of Ground Access Trips
The first step in planning any successful public transportation service is determining the
geographic distribution of the potential customers: air travelers and employees. Originating air
travelers and airport employees account for the majority of person trips to and from an airport.
While these are the most important groups to consider, they have very different ground access
needs. Nevertheless, significant markets for ground access services can be found in the elements
common to their trips.
The term ground access traveler will be used to describe any air traveler or airport employee
who travels to or from an airport by a mode other than air. Not all air travelers are ground access
travelers; air travelers transferring between two flights (and who do not leave the airport) are not
candidates for ground access services at the transfer airport.
Although patterns will vary with the airport, mapping the ground access trip origins of large
U.S. airports would show that the supporting market area for each airport is spread over a wide
region. Several factors influence the distribution of ground access markets:
· The physical size of the market. The geographic size of an airport's ground access market is
influenced by factors such as proximity to competing airports, the relative price of airfares at
competing airports, the regional transportation networks, and the physical geography of the
area.
· The number of ground access trips originating from different locations. The distribution of
ground access trips within an airport's market area is based on development patterns of the
region, population density, and demographic characteristics of the population.
· The proportion of air traveler origins from defined market segments. As described in the
next section, these market segments usually categorize air travelers into four market segments
on the basis of residency and trip purpose.
Two concepts are important for understanding the geographic distribution of air travelers.
A ground transportation trip can be more precisely defined using the measure of trip ends. The
definition of a trip end is the origin or destination point of an air traveler's ground access trip;
one trip end is at the airport and the second trip end is located somewhere within the airport's
market or service area. Therefore, each ground transportation trip made to or from an airport
by an air traveler involves two trip ends. An additional measure, which combines the geographic
and quantitative components of the airport ground transportation market, is trip-end density.
For this report, trip-end density is defined as the number of air traveler trip ends per square mile
of land area. These measures and their applications to ground transportation planning are dis-
cussed in more detail later in this chapter.
Demographic Characteristics of Air Travelers
Although air travelers can be classified in many ways, two variables--trip purpose and home
residence location--are frequently used to classify air travelers for purposes of airport ground
access planning. The combination of these two variables results in four market segments: resi-
dent business, resident non-business, non-resident business, and non-resident non-business
(Figure 6-1). (In the figures, the four segments are sometimes shortened to res biz, res non-biz,
non-res biz, and non-res non-biz.)
As mentioned earlier, one objective of market research is to identify target groups for a ser-
vice or product. For air travelers, the characteristics of residence and trip purpose influence
their preferences for ground access services. The different characteristics of these four market
segments and the implications for ground access services are discussed in the following
sections.
OCR for page 137
Applying Market Research to Airport Ground Access 137
The "Four Cell Matrix"
Resident Non-resident
Trip Purpose
Business Business
Resident Non-resident
Non-business Non-business
Residential Status
Figure 6-1. The four
market segments.
Resident Business
Resident business travelers are often the largest group of air travelers. They tend to travel to and
from the airport at peak arrival or departure times. Because of their frequent air travel, resident busi-
ness travelers are likely to know the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective means of accessing the
airport. Typically, resident business travelers make shorter trips than non-business travelers and
have less baggage. Although this characteristic makes their travel profile more suitable for public
transportation, their sensitivity to access time reliability makes them cautious about using these ser-
vices. Public transportation service characteristics like schedule reliability must be flawless to attract
resident business travelers. This observation is especially true for the so-called "just-in-time" trav-
elers, who arrive at the airport with barely enough time to make their flight departure and who are
particularly sensitive to even minor delays. Resident business travelers tend to be the dominant users
of the more convenient (close-by) and more expensive airport parking options.
Resident Non-Business
Resident non-business air travelers are almost certain to start their airport trip from home and
to have a longer length of stay than resident business air travelers. They also tend to travel in larger
travel parties and to have more baggage. Accordingly, they are more sensitive to access costs and
may need assistance with baggage handling. Although resident non-business travelers travel less
frequently than business travelers, they usually have some information available about access to
their local airport and may have developed a preferred access method. They have a greater
tendency to travel during off-peak times and are subject to day-of-the-week variations because
of travel promotions by the airlines. Because of the characteristics of their travel, resident non-
business air travelers will likely be dropped off at the airport by friends or family; if they drive,
they are likely to park in reduced-rate facilities. They are candidates for public transportation if
the ground mode boarding location is situated along their normal route to the airport.
Non-Resident Business
Non-resident business travelers usually begin their trips to the airport from a place of busi-
ness or a hotel. These places tend to be located in city centers, near regional attractions, near the
airport, or in proximity to regional highways. Depending on the nature of their trips (e.g., a busi-
ness meeting at one location or multiple meetings with a series of clients), non-resident business
travelers usually require the flexibility of a rental car or taxi. When their destination is the cen-
ter of the city, they will use the most efficient means of reaching their destination without regard
to cost. They may use public transportation, when the service is expedient and delivers them near
their destination without the need for multiple stops and transfers.
Non-Resident Non-Business
Non-resident non-business travelers are usually the least informed and most unfamiliar with
the access options available at any given airport. Although these travelers may make multiple
