An Information Integration Theory Analysis of Attractiveness of Bus Systems

Actual bus riders received information about frequency of service, fare, and comfort aspects of some bus systems and indicated how much they would like to travel in those buses. Information integration theory, which deals with multiple causation, was used to prepare descriptions of the bus systems. Analyses of the attractiveness judgments disclosed that the three attributes of the bus systems were integrated by a multiplying rule. Functional measurement of the subjective values of the three attributes did not correspond with their known physical values. Implications of these findings were discussed for transportation planning and for further research.