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Exploring Factors Affecting Commuters’ Perspectives and Tendency to Use a Proposed

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 Volume 41 An NRC Research
Press Journal
Une revue de
NRC Research
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Canadian Journal of
Civil Engineering www.nrcresearchpress.com

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Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Société canadienne de génie civil
 1054

ARTICLE
Modeling significant factors affecting commuters’ perspectives
and propensity to use the new proposed metro service in Doha
Khaled Shaaban and Hany M. Hassan

Abstract: The Qatari government introduced a major public transport project titled the Doha Metro system to address the fast
growing transportation demands in Qatar’s urban areas and to be ready for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. To benefit from this
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by CSP Staff on 12/03/14

new metro system in reducing traffic congestion problems in Doha, it must be attractive with a reasonable level of service to
attract large numbers of car users to switch to the new metro. This goal can be achieved by a better understanding of the user’s
needs and expectations in Qatar. This paper aims to identify and quantify the significant factors affecting commuters’ perspec-
tives, preferences and tendencies to use this new metro network for their daily trips in the future. The data used for the analysis
was obtained from a self-reported questionnaire survey carried out among a sample of commuters living in Doha. Different data
mining techniques were employed including conditional distributions and two-way analysis. In addition, logistic regression and
structural equation modeling approaches were developed. The results revealed that the location of metro stations, the metro
station’s features, the metro’s features, gender, the number of daily trips, the purpose of trips, and the average duration of trips
in Doha were the significant factors that affected commuters’ willingness and tendency to use the new metro system. The results
of this study provide authorities and decision makers in Doha with valuable insights that should be taken into consideration
prior to implementing the new metro service to ensure its success.

Key words: public transit, commuters’ willingness to use public transit, commuters’ satisfaction, service quality, travel mode
choice.
For personal use only.

Résumé : Le gouvernement qatari a lancé la construction un grand projet de transport en commun, le métro de Doha, pour faire
face à la forte croissance de la demande en matière de transports dans les régions urbaines du Qatar et pour que le pays soit en
mesure d’accueillir la Coupe du Monde de la FIFA 2022. Pour être avantageux et contribuer à réduire les embouteillages à Doha,
ce nouveau métro devra offrir un niveau de service acceptable de façon à encourager un grand nombre d’automobilistes à
l’emprunter plutôt que d’utiliser leur voiture. La réalisation d’un tel objectif passera par une meilleure compréhension des
besoins et attentes des usagers qataris. Le présent article a pour but de déterminer et de mesurer les facteurs qui influenceront
le plus les intentions, les préférences et les tendances des banlieusards quant à l’utilisation quotidienne de ce nouveau réseau de
métro à l’avenir. Les données utilisées pour cette analyse proviennent de questionnaires d’enquête auxquels a répondu un
échantillon d’habitants de la banlieue de Doha. Diverses techniques d’exploration de données ont été utilisées, dont celle des
distributions conditionnelles et l’analyse à deux facteurs. En outre, des modélisations par régression logistique et par équation
structurelle ont été développées. Les résultats de ces analyses ont montré que l’emplacement des stations de métro, leurs
caractéristiques, le sexe des usagers, le nombre de leurs déplacements quotidiens et le but et la durée moyenne des déplacements
à Doha constituaient les facteurs qui influenceraient le plus les choix et les tendances des banlieusards quant à l’utilisation de
ce nouveau réseau de métro. Les résultats de la présente étude fournissent aux autorités et aux décideurs des données précieuses
qui devront être prises en compte avant la mise en service du nouveau métro afin d’en assurer le succès. [Traduit par le Rédaction]

Mots-clés : transports en commun, volonté des banlieusards d’utiliser les transports en commun, satisfaction des banlieusards,
qualité de service, choix du mode de transport.

Introduction the choice of a transport mode is influenced by several factors

The increased rate of car use, especially in rich developing coun-
tries, has major implications in terms of pollution, noise, and
congestion problems. Commuters are relying more on private
cars as a way of transportation, ignoring other alternatives such as
public transportation systems. Steg (2005) stated that feelings of
sensation, power, freedom, status, and superiority are the main
factors in commuters’ decision of using private cars. To attract
commuters to use public transportation, it should be provided
with a reasonable level of service to attract large numbers of car
users to switch to public transport (Hensher et al. 2003).
This goal can be achieved by a clear understanding of the com-
muters’ needs and expectations. Previous studies indicated that
including individual characteristics, lifestyle, type of journey, and
perceived service performance of each transport mode. Prior stud-
ies showed also that many factors were found to significantly
impact the commuters’ choice of using public transit. These fac-
tors include reducing the total trip time, increasing the availabil-
ity or ease of the use of transit, making traveling on the subway a
more comfortable and relaxing experience, reliability of commuting
times, price, parking availability, reasonable taxi fares, and physical
design and layout of the station and platform (Andreassen 1995;
Schaller 1999; Tse et al. 2006; Ali 2010).
Qatar is facing an unprecedented challenge to deal with rapid
motorization and urbanization within the country constrained by

Received 24 December 2013. Accepted 30 September 2014.

K. Shaaban. Department of Civil Engineering, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
H.M. Hassan. Department of Civil Engineering, Ain Shams University, 1 Al-Sarayat Street, Abbasia, Cairo, Egypt.
Corresponding author: Khaled Shaaban (e-mail: kshaaban@qu.edu.qa).

Can. J. Civ. Eng. 41: 1054–1064 (2014) dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjce-2013-0595 Published at www.nrcresearchpress.com/cjce on 9 October 2014.
 Shaaban and Hassan
Fig. 1. The Doha metro network (Map data © 2013 Google).
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by CSP Staff on 12/03/14
For personal use only.
limited land as it occupies only 11 437 km2 (4416 mi2). Qatar’s
population has reached 1.7 million and is expected to reach 2.0
million in 2015 with a steady annual growth rate of 3.97% and
approximately 3.2 million people by 2030 (Khalil and Shaaban
2012). In addition, Qatar has one of highest rates for numbers of
motor vehicles per 1000 people (479 motor vehicles per 1000 peo-
ple in 2012). The number of daily trips in Qatar (all activities)
jumped from 1 777 000 trips per day in 2000 to 5 498 000 in 2012.
In addition, there were 287 500 vehicles on the road in Qatar in
2000, compared to 879 039 in 2012. This huge increase caused a
high demand on the existing road network. To address the fast
growing transportation demands in Qatar’s urban areas and to be
ready for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Qatari government
proposed a new metro system in Doha.
The main aim of the new metro system is to transform Qatar
into a world class economy by 2030, capable of sustaining its own
development and providing for new urban developments. The
main objective of this paper is to provide a better understanding
regarding the car owners’ needs, expectations, and reactions to
the new proposed Doha metro system. It is expected that the
results of the analysis of this study will contribute to the success of
the new metro system.
Doha metro network
As part of the Qatar Rail Development Program, Qatar is devel-
oping a new metro system that will cover the city of Doha. The
Doha Metro network is designed to link all the major town cen-
tres, major commercial and residential areas, Olympic venues,
villages, hotels district, and the new Doha International Airport.
The Doha Metro network has four lines and 100 stations with a
total length of approximately 360 km. The four lines are the Red,
Gold, Green, and Blue lines as seen in Fig. 1. The lines will run
underground, at grade, and elevated. The construction of the
metro started in 2012. To be ready for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World
1055
Cup, the metro’s first phase is expected to be completed in 2020
while the final phase is expected to be completed in 2026.
To benefit from the new metro service in reducing traffic con-
gestion in Doha, the metro must attract sufficient commuters
from individuals who have the option of traveling by car, rather
than regular transit users who will use the system but will not
affect the traffic congestion on the roadway network. Users who
use personal vehicles on a daily basis are more likely to switch
from private vehicles and select transit if the metro will provide a
faster, less stressful, and (or) cheaper trip than personal cars. If the
commuters are able to take advantage of one or more cases from
the above-listed cases, the possibility of switching to transit will
dramatically increase. The more drivers that switch to transit, the
greater the benefit there will be to the mobility inside the city. It
should be noted that the benefits of transit in general in city
mobility will increase along the life of the project compared to a
roadway improvement that will deteriorate with time. The public
transit will attract more users and become more attractive as
traffic congestion increases over time. In this case, drivers will
find public transit more attractive, assuming that the metro will
provide the conditions listed above.
In this study, a questionnaire-based study was designed and
conducted to assess the main reasons for using or not using the
new metro service in Doha after completion, the acceptable time
from the origin and destination, and individual perspectives to-
ward the metro service and station features included parking fea-
tures, facilities, safety, ticketing, etc. The survey was conducted
among 316 random car owners living in the city of Doha.
To sum up, this paper aims to add to the existing literature by
investigating the following research questions:
1. What are the essential features that should be provided to the
new metro service to make it successful (i.e., metro stations, loca-
tions and features, metro features)?
Published by NRC Research Press
 1056
2. What is the percentage of participants who are willing to use
the metro service once it becomes available?
3. What are the factors significantly associated with commut-
ers’ willingness and tendencies to use the new metro network?
4. What are the main reasons that may prevent motorists living
in Doha from using the new metro?
It is expected that the results of this study will provide au-
thorities and decision makers with valuable detailed informa-
tion regarding the most important features and issues that should
be taken into consideration when designing and constructing the
new metro features to ensure its success (i.e., convincing a large
percentage of car owners to leave their private cars and use the
new metro service).
Background
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by CSP Staff on 12/03/14
Ali (2010) in a study to assess the quality of intra-urban bus
services revealed that the quality of bus service was different in
varied parts of the city, based on the variation of waiting time,
walking distance to the nearest bus stops, and bus service fre-
quency that varied from one centre to another. Andreassen (1995)
studied the quality and customer satisfaction of three transporta-
tion modes: bus, train, and tram. A questionnaire reflecting the
different satisfaction variables was developed, ranging from very
little satisfied to very satisfied. Each item in the scales contains
questions with six intervals anchored “very little satisfied” to
“very satisfied”. Based on the analysis, recommendations to make
improvements in the traveling time (users of tram and train),
price level (users of the train), and the physical design and layout
For personal use only.
of the station and platform (users of buses) were made.
Reliability of commuting times is essential, as unpredictability
in journey length has been demonstrated to correlate positively
with subjective and objective stress-related measures in commut-
ers (Tse et al. 2006). Schaller (1999), in a research that studied
commuters’ decision to choose one of five modes (subway, bus,
auto, taxi, and car service) in New York City, studied six major
factors, from how long the trip will take to availability of parking.
Travelers choose the mode that presents the least difficulty for a
particular type of trip. The survey results showed that the areas of
subway service improvement with the greatest potential rider-
ship payoff were reducing the time it took to make a trip, increas-
ing the availability or ease of use of transit, and making traveling
on the subway a more comfortable and relaxing experience. Two
external factors, parking availability and taxi fares, were also
found to significantly impact subway ridership.
Cantwell et al. (2009) found that commuters who travel on a
crowded public transport experience higher levels of commuting
stress, probably due to increased invasion of personal space and
cramped, uncomfortable conditions. High stress levels are also
more prolific among respondents who commute, using unreliable
public transport services, most likely induced by a lack of control
over the situation. Commuters who spend longer times waiting
for a public transport service also tend to be more stressed. Long wait
times are most likely caused by services not running according to
schedule, which, in turn, induces stress due to lack of reliability and
a diminished sense of control. O’Regan and Buckley (2003) found
similar results as they indicated that insufficient capacity and crowd-
ing are the major causes of stress among commuters who use public
transport.
Method
Participants and sampling procedure
In the present study, the minimum sample size was estimated
using two approaches. First, using the full factorial design as fol-
lows:
The minimum survey size = 2 (gender: male and female) × 4 (age:
18–30, 31–45, 46–60, and over 60 years old) × 3 (Nationality: Qatari,
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 41, 2014
Non-Qatari (Arabs), others) × 4 (Occupation: Student, Employee,
Self-employed and not working) × 3 (Trip purpose: Work or
school, leisure, others) = 288
Second, the minimum sample size was estimated using the
following formula:
(1) SS ⫽ Z2 × P(1 ⫺ P)/C2
where SS = minimum required sample size, Z = Z-value, P = percentage
of population, C = confidence interval (5%). And to account for the
effect of population SS should be re-estimated as follows:
(2) New SS = SS/(1 ⫹ (SS ⫺ 1)/Pop)
Assuming 90% confidence level (z = 1.645), 5% confidence inter-
val (c = 0.05), P = 0.05, Pop = 1 638 644 (according to 2010 census
data of Qatar), the minimum sample size was 272. To be more
conservative, the research team targeted more than 300 partici-
pants.
Based on the review of previous studies, it was found that
mail-in questionnaires yield low response rates, and do not pro-
vide interaction between the interviewer and the respondents.
Hence, mail-in questionnaire was not undertaken. Also, phone
interviews were not used due to limited budget. Additionally,
according to TCRP (2006), the use of Internet-based survey usually
does not provide a representative sample of the population at
large, resulting from some population segments not having access
to the Internet or not having knowledge about using it. Thus, it
was decided to use handout questionnaires for this study.
In this approach, 500 survey forms were printed and distributed
randomly among car owners living in the city of Doha. These
forms were handed out randomly in several locations such as
universities, shopping malls, and sports clubs. The questionnaire
was divided between the selected locations in a way to cover the
different types of trips including home-based work, home-based
shop, home-based other (including school-based trips), non-home-
based work, and non-home-based other. To cover the home-based
work trips and non-home based work, the forms were handed out
at shopping malls in business and manufacturing districts during
different hours of the day to cover lunch hours and after work
hours for workers. For school-based trips, the university and high
school students’ category was captured by distributing the forms
at universities and sports clubs. It should be noted that the survey
was also distributed to high school students during a workshop at
Qatar University designed for high school students to promote
university education.
The researchers explained the questionnaires to the people in
person and asked them to complete and return the questionnaire
to them. All 500 distributed survey forms were received back.
However, only 316 surveys forms were considered complete and
used in the analysis. The remaining forms had more than 30%
missing responses (questions) and hence they were disregarded.
Questionnaire design and content
The questionnaire used in the present study is composed of four
main parts: (1) demographic information, (2) commuters perspec-
tives and willingness to use the new metro, (3) metro station’s
locations and features, and (4) metro’s features. The general lay-
out of the questionnaire’s content used in this study is provided in
Fig. 2.
As shown in Fig. 2, the demographic part includes informa-
tion about participants’ gender, age, occupation (i.e., student,
self-employed, employed, not working), nationality (Qatari, non-
Qatari), cars’ ownership (i.e., total number of cars in house), income
and personal trips (i.e., the number of daily trips, most frequent
purposes of trips, and the average duration of the trip in Doha).
Published by NRC Research Press
 Shaaban and Hassan
Fig. 2. General layout of the questionnaire’ design and content.
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by CSP Staff on 12/03/14
For personal use only.
In the second part of the questionnaire form, participants were
asked whether they would use the new metro service once it
became available and the main purpose for using it. Also, they
were asked to report the main reason(s) that might prevent them
from using the metro from their point of view.
The third part includes five sections that were designed to col-
lect participants’ opinions regarding the most important features
that should be available in the new metro stations in a four-point
scale (very unimportant, unimportant, important, and very im-
portant). As shown in Fig. 2, these five sections include informa-
tion related to (1) location of the metro station (i.e., what is the
acceptable time from metro station to your house and final desti-
nation by walking), (2) connections (i.e., the availability of taxis
and buses at the metro station), (3) parking features (i.e., the avail-
ability of free parking beside metro’s stations, the availability of
shaded parking), (4) facilities (i.e., the availability of real-time ar-
rival information for metro riders, the availability of advertising
screens, and TVs in waiting areas), and (5) safety (i.e., the availabil-
ity of security guards in the metro station).
Finally, the fourth part of the questionnaire includes four mea-
sures to collect participants’ opinions regarding the most important
1057
features that should be available in the metro itself in a four-points
scale (very unimportant, unimportant, important, and very impor-
tant). These four measures are: (1) metro’s ticket (i.e., the availability
of smart fare payment for tickets on the metro to avoid any delay),
(2) classes (i.e., the availability of different classes such as VIP, econ-
omy), (3) facilities (i.e., the availability of handicap facilities), and
(4) safety (i.e., the availability of security guards inside the metro).
Response analysis
A total of 316 responses were used in the analysis in this study.
The characteristics of the survey’s participants are summarized in
Table 1. Approximately 54% of the participants were males, while
about 46% were females. On the occupational level, approximately
90% of the participants were students, employees or self-employed
persons. In addition, about 34% of the participants were Qatari while
66% were non-Qatari.
Moreover, about half the participants (49.1%) reported that they
had at least 4 cars. Also, approximately 65% of the participants
stated that they had at least 4 trips per day.
Published by NRC Research Press
 1058 Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 41, 2014

Table 1. Characteristics of the survey's participants.

Number of Percentages of
Variables Categories respondents respondents
Gender Male 169 53.5
Female 147 46.5
Age 16–30 177 56.0
31–45 86 27.2
46–60 41 13.0
Over 60 12 3.8
Occupation Student 117 37.0
Employee 155 49.1
Self-employed 13 4.1
Not working 31 9.8
Nationality Qatari 108 34.2
Non-Qatari 208 65.8
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Total number of cars in house (including company cars) 1 43 13.6

2–3 118 37.3
4–5 108 34.2
>5 47 14.9
Total number of people living in your house 2–4 91 28.8
5–7 146 46.2
>7 79 25.0
No. of daily trips (home ¡ work ¡ home = 2 trips) 1–2 110 34.8
3–4 158 50.0
5–6 37 11.7
>6 11 3.5
Most frequent purpose of your trips Work/School/University 219 69.3
Leisure 35 11.1
Other 62 19.6
Average duration of your trip in Doha 10 min or less 6 1.9
For personal use only.

11–30 min 107 33.9

31–45 min 71 22.4
46-60 min 67 21.2
1–2 h 49 15.5
2 h or more 16 5.1

About 70% of respondents claimed that the most frequent pur-
pose of their trips was going to school, university, or work. Addi-
tionally, approximately 43% of the questionnaire’s participants
claimed that they spent on an average more than 45 min during
their regular trips in Doha. The above mentioned figures give an
indication about how the people living and working in the city of
Doha became car dependents.
As indicated earlier, one of the objectives of this study was to
provide in-depth insights regarding the essential features that
should be provided in the new metro service to make it successful.
Participants’ self-reported responses to the importance of provid-
ing certain suggested features in the new metro stations as well as
inside the metro itself are summarized and provided in Tables 2
and 3, respectively.
As shown in Table 2, most of the respondents (about 79%) re-
vealed that the acceptable time from the metro to home (or final
destination) by walking is 5 min maximum. About 86% and 83% of
the participants claimed that availability of buses and taxi, respec-
tively, at the metro station are either important or very impor-
tant. The availability of shaded parking and free parking were the
most important features of the metro station’s parking (stated by
about 91% and 88% of the participants, respectively).These results
are logical considering the adverse weather conditions that Doha
encounters especially during summer.
In addition, the results shown in Table 2 indicate that on-time
performance (always meeting the time announced), the quality of
the facilities and services (e.g., toilets, shops, cafes, etc.), the avail-
ability of coffee shops, vending machines, restaurants and small
shops, and the availability of staff in metro stations to help with
the ticketing were the most important facilities that should be
available and provided in the metro stations (all of them were
reported by more than 90% of the participants).
Moreover, as shown in Table 3, the availability of buying tickets
from self-ticket machines (using cash and cards), handicap facili-
ties, available seats at all times, and separated sections (male,
female, and families) were the most important metro features
that were selected by the majority of the questionnaire’s partici-
pants (selected by about 93%, 92%, 90%, and 87%, respectively).
Furthermore, approximately 95% and 89% of respondents stated
that it is important to provide security guards in the metro station
as well as inside the metro.
In addition, the participants in this study were asked about
their willingness or tendency to use the new proposed metro of
Doha, once it became available. As shown in Fig. 3, approximately
41% of the participants reported that they would use the new
metro service for their daily trips in Doha once it became avail-
able. About 37% of the participants stated that they might use it
while about 22% reported that they would not use it.
One objective of this study was to investigate the main reasons
that might prevent motorists living in Doha from using the new
metro. As shown in Fig. 4, it was found that long distances be-
tween metro stations and the origin or final destination (reported
by about 32% of participants), weather conditions in Qatar (re-
ported by about 21% of participants), and people accustomed to
using their private cars (reported by about 21% of participants)
were the main reasons that might prevent the people living in
Doha from using the new metro.
One of the objectives of the current study was to identify and
quantify the factors significantly associated with the commuters’
willingness and tendencies to use the new metro network. There-
fore, prior to modeling commuters’ willingness and tendencies to
use the new metro, two-way analyses were conducted. The Pear-
son’s ␹2 test was used to examine the independence of every pair
of nominal variables, whereas a Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel (CMH)

Published by NRC Research Press

 Shaaban and Hassan 1059

Table 2. Participants' responses to the importance of the suggested metro station's features.
Numbers and percentages
Metro station features Mean SD* of respondents**
Location
Acceptable time from metro to home by walking 5.33 4.08 250 (79.1%)
Acceptable time from metro to home by taxi 5.90 4.95 203 (64.2%)
Acceptable time from metro to home by bus 6.01 5.17 204 (64.6%)
Acceptable time from metro to home by car 6.44 4.58 215 (68.0%)
Connections
Availability of taxi at the metro station 3.27 0.89 263 (83.2%)
Availability of buses at the metro station 3.28 0.87 271 (85.8%)
Parking features
Free parking 3.46 0.81 279 (88.3%)
Valet parking service 2.83 1.09 202 (63.9%)
Shaded parking 3.52 0.77 288 (91.1%)
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Air-conditioned parking 2.88 1.10 209 (66.1%)

Golf carts to transport you from your car to the station entrance 3.04 0.99 240 (75.9%)
Facilities
Availability of real-time arrival information for metro riders 3.31 0.89 269 (85.1%)
On time performance (always meeting the time announced) 3.64 0.66 299 (94.6%)
Less than 5 minutes waiting time 3.39 0.83 277 (87.7%)
Free Wi-Fi internet connection 3.33 0.81 269 (85.1%)
Availability of advertising screens, and TVs in waiting areas 3.05 0.88 231 (73.1%)
Coffee shops, venders machine, restaurants, and small shops 3.44 0.69 290 (91.8%)
Separated sections for male, female, and families 3.30 0.93 258 (81.6%)
Quality of the facilities and services (e.g., toilets, shops, cafes, etc.) 3.58 0.69 298 (94.3%)
Availability of staff in metro station to help with the ticketing 3.50 0.76 292 (92.4%)
Security
Security guards in the metro station 3.59 0.71 299 (94.6%)
For personal use only.

*SD represents standard deviation.

**Represents the number and percentage of participants who reported either important or very important for their expectations
of the metro feature, and it also represents the number and percentage of participants who reported 5 minutes or less.

Table 3. Participants' responses to the importance of the suggested metro features.

Numbers and percentages
Metro features Mean SD of respondents*
Metro ticket
Buying ticket online 2.96 1.01 221 (69.9%)
Buying ticket from self-ticket machine (using cash and cards) 3.54 0.76 293 (92.7%)
Smart fare payment for tickets on metro to avoid any delay 3.32 0.86 271 (85.8%)
Classes
Different classes (VIP for a higher price and economy) 3.05 1.01 226 (71.5%)
Separated sections (male, female, and families) 3.60 0.85 275 (87.0%)
Availability of a seat at all times 3.41 0.79 284 (89.9%)
Facilities
Free Wi-Fi internet connection during the trip 3.19 0.91 246 (77.8%)
Handicap facilities 3.56 0.77 289 (91.5%)
Advertising screens, satellite channels, and TVs 2.85 0.96 203 (64.2%)
Security
Security guards inside the metro 3.40 0.80 280 (88.6%)
*Represent numbers and percentages of participants who reported important or very important.

test was used to analyze the association between every pair of Fig. 3. Participants willingness to use the new proposed metro of
ordinal variables and between ordinal and nominal variables. The Doha.
Fisher’s exact test was used where tables contained one or more
cells with an expected cell count of less than five.
As discussed earlier, commuters’ willingness and tendency to
use the new metro service (D1) was measured a three-point scale
yes, maybe, and no. To gain detailed insights about the factors
associated with D1, the two-way analysis was conducted in three
different aggregation cases of D1 levels: (a) D1 has three levels (0 ¡
no, 1 ¡ maybe, 2 ¡ yes), (b) D1 has two levels (0 ¡ no/maybe, 1 ¡
yes), and (c) D1 has two levels (0 ¡ no, 1 ¡ yes/maybe). A summary
of the factors that have a significant association with the commut-
ers’ willingness and tendencies to use the new metro network (D1)
is provided in Table 4.
The results shown in Table 4 indicate that changing the aggre-
gation method of the dependent variables’ levels slightly affected

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 1060 Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 41, 2014

Fig. 4. Main reasons that may prevent people from using the new metro service.
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Table 4. Factors associated with commuters' willingness to use the new metro service.
Factors associated with commuters' willingness to use the new metro service (D1)
(a) 0 ¡ No, 1 ¡ Maybe,
2 ¡ Yes (b) 0 ¡ No/Maybe, 1 ¡ Yes (c) 0 ¡ No, 1 ¡ Yes/Maybe
Variables Test/Value P-value Test/Value P-value Test/Value P-value
Q1 Gender CMH = 6.17 0.0130* ␹ = 4.79
2 0.0286* ␹ = 4.07
2 0.0437*
Q3 Occupation CMH = 4.54 0.0331* ␹2 = 4.57 0.0326* — —
For personal use only.

Q10 Average duration of your trip in Doha — — Fisher's exact test 0.0576** Fisher's exact test 0.0113*
Q14 Acceptable time from metro to home by walking Fisher's exact test 0.0006* ␹2 = 32.36 <.0001* Fisher's exact test <.0001*
Q15 Acceptable time from metro to home by taxi Fisher's exact test 0.0004* ␹2 = 7.03 0.0080* Fisher's exact test <.0001*
Q16 Acceptable time from metro to home by bus Fisher's exact test 0.0028* ␹2 = 8.99 0.0027* Fisher's exact test 0.0007*
Q17 Acceptable time from metro to home by car Fisher's exact test 0.0077* — — Fisher's exact test 0.0024*
Q19 Availability of buses at the metro station — — — — Fisher's exact test 0.0695**
Q20 Free parking Fisher's exact test 0.0182* — — Fisher's exact test 0.0028*
Q25 Availability of real-time arrival information Fisher's exact test 0.0375* — — Fisher's exact test 0.0068*
for metro riders
Q27 Less than 5 minutes waiting time Fisher's exact test 0.0120* — — Fisher's exact test 0.0061*
Q30 Availability of coffee shops, vending machines — — — — Fisher's exact test 0.0804**
Q35 Acceptable waiting time between trains — — — — Fisher's exact test 0.0858**
Q36 Buying ticket online CMH = 4.54 0.0189* CMH = 3.14 0.0763** CMH = 5.10 0.0239*
Q38 Smart fare payment for tickets to avoid any — — — — CMH = 3.64 0.0563**
delay
Q39 Different classes (VIP for a higher price and — — — — CMH = 5.63 0.0177*
economy)
Q41 Availability of a seat at all times — — — — Fisher's exact test 0.0203**
*Significant at ␣ = 0.05.
**Significant at ␣ = 0.10.

the results of the two-way analysis. In general, it was found that tic regression was used to examine the factors affecting the binary
gender, occupation (i.e., student, employee, not working), the lo- dependent variable D1 (i.e., cases b and c as shown in Table 4) while
cation of metro stations (i.e., is the acceptable time from metro to SEM was employed to identify and quantify the factors affecting
home by walking, the acceptable time from metro to home by D1 (where D1 has three levels as shown in Table 4, case a).
taxi, the acceptable time from metro to house by bus, the accept-
able time from metro to home by car), metro station’s features Logistic regression
(i.e., availability of buses at the metro station, availability of free
parking, availability of mobile application that provides real-time According to Agresti (2002), logistic regression model can be
arrival for metro riders, less than 5 min waiting time, availability written in the following form:
of coffee shops, vending machines, restaurants and small shops),
and metro’s features (availability of buying tickets online, avail- e␤0⫹␤1x
(3) E(Y/X) ⫽ ␲(x) ⫽
ability of smart fare payment for tickets on the metro to avoid any 1 ⫹ e␤0⫹␤1x
delay, availability of different classes inside the metro, availability
of seats for everyone at all times) were the factors that had signif-
icant associations with D1. Where the transformation of the ␲(x) logistic function is known as
To gain further insights regarding the factors that significantly the logit transformation:
affected the commuters’ willingness to use the new metro service
(D1) in a multivariate context, the logistic regression and struc-
tural equation modeling (SEM) approaches were developed. Logis-
(4) g(x) ⫽ ln 冋1 ⫺␲(x)␲(x)册
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 Shaaban and Hassan 1061

Table 5. Logistic regression estimates and fit statistics.

Analysis of maximum likelihood estimates Odds ratio estimates
Standard Wald Point 95% Wald
Parameter DF Estimate Error chi-Square Pr > ChiSq estimate Confidence Limits
Model-1 Commuters' Intercept 1 −2.2597 0.4619 23.9274 <0.0001
willingness/tendency to Gender 1 0.3963 0.2470 2.5740 0.1086** 1.486 0.916 2.412
use the new metro service Acceptable time from 1 0.1829 0.0367 24.7926 <0.0001* 1.201 1.117 1.290
(0 ¡ no / maybe, 1 ¡ yes) metro to home by
walking
Buying ticket online 1 0.2253 0.1226 3.3775 0.0661** 1.253 0.985 1.593
Model-2 Commuters' Intercept 1 0.9352 0.9508 0.9675 0.3253
willingness/tendency to Gender 1 0.3368 0.0553 37.0641 <0.0001* 1.400 1.257 1.561
use the new metro service Availability of free 1 0.6039 0.2254 7.1774 0.0074* 1.447 1.105 1.847
(0 ¡ no, 1 ¡ yes/maybe) parking
Buying ticket online 1 0.3652 0.1475 6.1334 0.0133* 1.441 1.079 1.924
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Model-1 Model-2
Intercept Intercept and Intercept Intercept and
Criterion only covariates only covariates
Model fit statistics AIC 428.607 394.264 336.217 279.602
SC 432.363 409.287 339.972 294.625
−2Log L 426.607 386.264 334.217 271.602
c 0.739 0.793
*Significant at ␣ = 0.05.
**Significant at ␣ = 0.10.

The logistic regression model estimated in this study can be using the new metro system for males is about 50% higher than
expressed as follows: females.
For personal use only.

Although, the logistic regression model provided us with some

(5) P(Willingness to use the new metro service) ⫽ ␲(x) insights regarding factors affecting D1 in a multivariate context,
eg(x) by aggregating the three levels of the response variable D1 into
⫽ two levels, we may lose valuable information when identifying
1 ⫹ eg(x)
significant variables affecting D1. Also, the decision whether to com-
bine the D1 level “maybe” with “yes” or “no” is suspicious. Therefore,
where g(x) is the function of independent variables the next section discusses the results of the SEM approach that was
developed to identify and quantify the significant variables affecting
(6) g(x) ⫽ ␤0 ⫹ ␤1x1 ⫹ ␤2x2 ⫹ …⫹ ␤nxn the response variable D1 that has three levels (no, maybe, yes).

In this study, the logistic regression approach was used to iden-
tify the significant variables associated with commuters’ willing-
ness and tendency to use the new metro service (D1). This section
presents the results of the two best models that were estimated to
examine the significant factors affecting D1 in two cases. In
model-1, the response variable (D1) is a binary variable with two
levels: 0 if the participants’ responses were “no” or “maybe” about
their willingness and tendency to use the new metro service, and
1 if their responses were “yes”. However, in model-2, the response
variable has two levels: 0 if the participants’ responses were “no”,
and 1 if participants’ response were “maybe or yes”.
Automatic search technique: stepwise, forward and backward
were used to identify significant variables affecting the binary
response variable (D1). All three search techniques resulted in
three significant variables in both models. The estimates of beta
coefficients, associated summary results, odds ratios, and model
fit statistics obtained from models 1 and 2 are presented in Table 5.
As shown in Table 5, in model-1, the three variables were gen-
der, location of the metro station (i.e., acceptable time from metro
to home by walking), and the availability of buying tickets online.
However, in model-2, the three significant variables were gender,
the availability of free parking, and the availability of buying
tickets online.
The odds ratio corresponding to parameter estimates is shown
in the last three columns of Table 5. For example, odds ratio of
1.486 corresponding to gender means that the odds of commuters’
willingness or tendency to use the new metro service are 1.498
higher for males than females. This means that the probability of
Structural equation modeling (SEM)
Structural equation modeling is a technique that consists of a
set of equations that are specified by direct links between vari-
ables and hence it can be called “the simultaneous equations”.
Structural equation modeling represents a combination of two
types of statistical techniques: factor analysis and simultaneous
equation models. In SEM, variables can be either exogenous or
endogenous which allow SEM to handle indirect, multiple, and
reverse relationships (Martínez et al. 2010). However, in SEM, la-
tent variables (unobserved or unmeasured variables) can be intro-
duced (Lee et al. 2008).
Structural equation modeling can handle complex relation-
ships among variables, where some variables can be hypothetical
or unobserved (latent variables) like the case of location of metro
stations’ factor in this study. In addition, using SEM, all coeffi-
cients are estimated in the model simultaneously and thus, one
is able to assess the significance and strength of a particular
relationship in the context of the complete model. Also, multi-
collinearity can be accounted for. Structural equation modeling is
applied in this research using SAS software (version 9.2) proce-
dure CALIS.
To develop SEM, the present analysis follows a two-step ap-
proach recommended by Anderson and Gerbing (1988). With this
approach, the first step involves using confirmatory factor analy-
sis (CFA) to develop an acceptable measurement model. This mea-
surement model describes the nature of the relationship between
a number of latent variables and the observed variables that mea-
sure those latent variables. However, this measurement model

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 1062
Fig. 5. Structural equation model of the factors affecting commuters’ willingness and tendency to use the new metro service in Doha (D1).
(* Significant at the 0.01 level; ** Significant at the 0.05 level).
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For personal use only.
does not specify any causal relationships between the latent vari-
ables of interest.
In the second step, the measurement model is modified so that
it can describe the relationships among the latent variables. This
model usually is referred to as the structural model or the causal
model (Hatcher 1994). Equations 7 and 8 represent the model
specification for the measurement and structural models, respec-
tively (Kim et al. 2011).
(7) vi ⫽ ␭iFi ⫹ ei
where vi is a vector of observed variables; Fi is a vector of latent
constructs; ␭i is a vector of parameters, and ei is a vector of mea-
surement errors, and:
(8) Fi∗∗ ⫽ ␤iFi∗ ⫹ ⌫iFi ⫹ di
where the endogenous variables Fi∗∗ is a function of the endoge-
nous effects of mediating variables Fi∗ and the effects of the exog-
enous variables Fi plus residual terms di; ␤i and ⌫i are parameter
vectors.
The SEM approach was used in this study to identify and quan-
tify the impacts of the significant variables affecting commuters’
willingness and tendency to use the new metro service (D1). After
investigating several SEM models, Fig. 5 shows the results of the
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 41, 2014
best SEM model that illustrates the causal relationships between
the factors that were found to be associated with the response
variable D1. As shown in Fig. 5, the location of metro stations (F1)
was the most significant factor (factor loading = 0.237, t-value 4.17)
that positively affected the commuters’ willingness and tendency
to use the new metro service (D1), followed by the metro stations’
features (particularly, availability of real-time arrival information
for metro riders, factor loading = 0.111, t-value 2.08), metro’s fea-
tures (particularly, availability of buying tickets online, factor
loading = 0.134, t-value 2.52), and gender (factor loading = 0.111,
t-value 2.04).
As shown in Fig. 5, the location of metro stations is a latent
variable that is measured by four observed variables: (1) the ac-
ceptable time from the metro to home by walking, (2) the accept-
able time from the metro to home by taxi, (3) the acceptable time
from the metro to home by bus, and (4) the acceptable time from
the metro to home by car. These results indicate that male com-
muters, participants who accepted to have more than five min-
utes from home to metro by walking, taxi, bus, or private car and
who believed that providing real-time arrival information for
metro riders inside the metro stations as well as the availability of
buying a ticket online are important, are more likely to use the
new metro service once it becomes available. The results of SEM
shown in Fig. 5 reveal also that there are four exogenous variables
that have an indirect effect on the commuters’ willingness and
tendency to use the new metro service (D1) through their direct
Published by NRC Research Press
 Shaaban and Hassan
Table 6. Fit statistics for structural equation models.
Criteria of
Fit index SEM model acceptable fit
chi-square 131.7247 Smaller values
df 37 Smaller values
p-value <0.0001 Smaller values
Goodness of fit index (GFI) 0.9479 >0.9
Adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI) 0.9215 >0.9
Comparative fit index (CFI) 0.9053 >0.9
Normed fit index (NFI) 0.9032 >0.9
Non-normed fit index (NNFI) 0.9018 >0.9
Root mean square error of 0.0502 <0.05
approximation (RMSEA)
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effects on three indigenous variables that affect D1. These four
variables are: (1) gender, (2), No. of daily trips, (3) purpose of your
trips, and (4) average duration of your trips in Doha.
According to Fig. 5, it can be noted that males and commuters’
who do more than four trips per day are more likely to accept
more than five minutes from the metro station to home by walk-
ing, taxi, bus, or car. Also, commuters’ who reported that the most
frequent purpose of their trips was for traveling to work, school,
and university were more likely to accept more than five minutes
from the metro station to home by walking, taxi, bus, or car.
Finally, participants, who spend more than one hour on average
in their trips in Doha, reported that providing real-time arrival
information for the metro riders and buying of ticket online are
For personal use only.
either important or very important.
Table 6 shows the goodness of fit statistics of the two SEM
models. As shown in Table 6, the models displayed values greater
than 0.9 on GFI, AGFI, CFI, NFI, NNFI and a value smaller than 0.05
on RMSEA, indicative of a good fit (Ma et al. 2010; Martínez et al.
2010; Lee et al. 2008; Hatcher 1994; Nunnally 1978).
Conclusions and recommendations
Qatar being a developing country in the Gulf area is facing the
dilemma of servicing tremendous growth in the travel demand,
constrained by limited land and inferior infrastructure. There-
fore, Qatar introduced a major project that will be implemented
in its capital Doha namely “the Doha Metro Network” to address
the rapidly increasing transportation demands in Qata’s urban
areas and lessen the problems of traffic jams on Doha’s highways
and to be ready for the Qatar 2022 FIFA world cup.
This study strives to provide in-depth insights concerning:
(1) the essential features that should be provided to the new metro
service to make it successful, (2) the percentage of participants
who are willing to use the metro service once it becomes avail-
able, (3) the factors significantly associated with commuters’ will-
ingness and tendencies to use the new metro network, and (4) the
main reasons that may prevent motorists living in Doha from
using the new metro. To achieve these goals, a questionnaire-
based study was designed and conducted in Doha. Responses from
316 random car owners, living in the city of Doha, were collected
and used in the analysis. Conditional distributions, two-way anal-
ysis, logistic regression, and structural equation modeling were
adopted.
The findings showed that approximately 41% of the participants
reported that they would use the new metro service for their daily
trips in Doha once it became available. In addition, about 37% of
the participants stated that they might use it, while about 22%
reported that they would not use it.
Regarding the main reasons that may prevent motorists living
in Doha from using the new metro, it was found that long dis-
tances between metro stations and the origin and final destina-
tion (reported by about 32% of participants), adverse weather
conditions in Qatar (reported by about 21% of participants), and
1063
people accustomed to using their private cars (reported by about
21% of participants) were the main reasons that might prevent
people living in Doha from using the new metro.
In addition, the results of the SEM indicated that the location of
the metro stations (i.e., the acceptable time from metro station to
home by walking), the metro stations’ features (i.e., the availabil-
ity of real-time arrival information for metro riders), the metro’s
features (i.e., the availability of buying a ticket online, factor loading),
gender, number of daily trips, purpose of trip, and average duration
of the trip in Doha were the significant variables that affected com-
muters’ willingness and tendency to use the new metro service.
Prior studies showed that many factors affected the commuters’
choice of using public transit including the total trip time, the avail-
ability and ease of using public transit, reliability of commuting
times, price, parking availability, reasonable taxi fares, and physical
design and layout of the station and platform (Andreassen 1995; Ali
2010; Tse et al. 2006; Schaller 1999).
The results of the current study identified some unique re-
quests of the public in Qatar to use the new metro system result-
ing from the local culture and weather conditions in Qatar. These
unique features include the need for providing separated sections
(male, female, and families) inside the metro and in the waiting
areas, shaded parking, golf carts to transport public from parking
area to station entrance due to hot weather, security guards inside
the metro, smart fare payment for tickets and free Wi-Fi. These
unique features, if not accommodated, will impact the percentage
of people using the new metro service in Qatar. Furthermore, if a
park and ride service is proposed in the future, some valuable
information about the preferred parking features is included in
this study.
These results provide authorities and decision makers in Qatar
(and other similar developing countries) with valuable insights
regarding the commuters’ perspectives and preferences. It is ex-
pected that these proposed suggestions, if applied or taken into
consideration prior to implementing the new metro service, will
contribute to the success of the new metro system and conse-
quently lessen the problem of traffic jams on Doha’s highway
network.
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