1. Introduction
Why do not commuters always choose the nearest train station
to their origin, such as home, to reach their destination? This has
been an interesting question for transport geographers and
planners. In this case, the nearest station means the station is
located nearest to the origin based on network distance. The
assumption is that distance is one of the key variables for
commuters’ station choice. However, based on our survey
conducted in Perth, Western Australia from July 31 to August 1,
2012, the probability of the nearest station choice varies by the
location of stations (Desfor, 1975). For example, the station at the
end of railway lines is more likely to be chosen as the nearest
station than a station somewhere along the line. For example (see
Fig. 1), the probability of choosing Midland station, at the end of
the train line, as the nearest station is 68.8%, while for Cannington
(located at the middle of the train line), it is only 26.9%, which
means 73.1% people did not choose the nearest station to their origin, instead driving a longer distance to use Cannington station.
Therefore, in addition to location and distance, other variables
could be important for these choice behaviours and they are
classified in three groups: