Elasticity of Intercity Buses in the West Bank

In the Palestinian territories, as the country is developing, there is a need to study public transport characteristics. This study is concerned with transportation planning in Palestine. The objective of the study is to collect and analyze information about public transportation ridership behavior by using two different questionnaires for bus riders and shared-taxi riders. The study area was the Northern and Central Governorates of the West Bank. Five hundred and eighty six forms were distributed for intercity bus and shared-taxi riders, which accounted for 5 percent of riders. Questions were about riders' characteristics, trip itself, and changing mode preference for a change in bus fare or waiting time. Results showed that ridership demand elasticity towards the change in bus fare was -1.83 for bus riders and 1.34 for shared-taxi riders. Employees and students who make frequent trips were the most sensitive to mode change based on fare change, reducing waiting time, and availability of express bus services. It is recommended for future research to extend such efforts for the rest of the West Bank governorates and Gaza Strip.