Effectiveness and Acceptability of Transportation Demand Management Policy Packages to Reduce Two-Wheeler Usage in a Metropolitan City

Transportation demand management (TDM) policies are increasingly required in rapidly motorizing cities where private two-wheelers dominate urban travel demand. However, the success of these strategies depends not only on their effectiveness in changing travel behavior but also on their public acceptability. This study evaluates the effectiveness and acceptability of combined TDM policy packages designed to reduce two-wheeler commuting in Surat. A stated-preference survey of 782 two-wheeler commuters was conducted to examine responses to packages combining push measures (cordon pricing and parking pricing) with pull measures (reduced transit access time and transit fare reductions). A hybrid choice model was developed to jointly analyze commuters’ mode choice behavior and policy acceptability. Results indicate that integrating parking pricing with a 25% reduction in transit access time produces the highest implementable reduction in two-wheeler use (27.54%). Improvements in transit accessibility were found to be a stronger enabling measure than fare reductions in increasing both effectiveness and acceptability. The findings highlight the importance of designing balanced TDM policy packages that combine push and pull measures to reduce dependence on private two-wheelers in rapidly motorizing cities.