Value of Travel Time for Commuter Work Trips in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Date
2025-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The economic valuation of travel time has been acknowledged as a core input to transport-demand
modelling, infrastructure appraisal, and pricing strategies. In this study the Value of Time (VOT)
of Addis Ababa commuters was estimated so that variations attributable to travel mode,
socioeconomic profile,, and corridor congestion could be quantified during their morning trip to
work. Data were collected through a stated-preference survey administered to 400 employed
travelers in Addis Ababa. Six hypothetical choice tasks were completed by each respondent after
a pilot instrument had been refined. Utilities were modelled by multinomial specifications, and
supplementary regressions were performed to test income-, purpose- and congestion-interaction
effects. the study finds an aggregate VOT of 259.6 Birr/hour in the pilot and 275 Birr/hour in the
main survey lower than GDP-scaled benchmarks and indicating a high premium on time savings.
Heterogeneity analysis reveals that individuals from higher-income households and private-mode
users exhibit substantially higher VOTs. The study recommends differentiated pricing strategies.
Future research should enlarge the sample well beyond the current cases and extend the survey to
multiple journey purposes with an addition of attributes such as impact of activities during
travelling and urgency. These enhancements will generate purpose- and reliability-sensitive VOT
estimates that more accurately reflect Ethiopia’s diverse travel behaviour.
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Keywords
VOT, Stated Preference Survey, Transportation, Discrete Choice Modeling, Addis Ababa.