Analysis of the accessibility of connecting transport at High-speed rail stations from the perspective of departing passengers

Accessibility assessment of High-speed rail (HSR) should not be limited to station-to-station analysis, since “first and last mile” transport is crucial. Economic costs, time value, and travel time volatility significantly impact travel decisions but are underexplored. We conducted a multidimensional analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of the accessibility of HSR stations from the perspective of departing passengers. With data collected from the API of navigation software, measurement methods for static characteristics of accessibility, including time accessibility, economic accessibility, and generalized travel cost accessibility, and dynamic characteristics, were proposed. In terms of dynamic characteristics, the daily fluctuation and long-period fluctuation of travel time were quantified using coefficients of variation. The empirical analysis was carried out for three cities with different scales and transportation system compositions, which are Chengdu, Mianyang, and Leshan. Results reveal significant time and economic accessibility advantages for private and public transport, respectively. The time value at the equilibrium point of the generalized travel cost between the two modes is higher in larger cities, reflecting greater reliance on public connecting transport in metropolitan areas. Private transport has a greater accessibility advantage in the areas of the HSR station away from the core city, while public transport has a more prominent advantage in other cases. Negative correlation is observed between daily fluctuations and linear distance, with public transport exhibiting weaker but more extreme fluctuations. During peak hours, private transport displays greater volatility towards the core urban area. These findings have important policy implications for HSR station location decisions and the planning and operation of connecting transport.