Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Transport Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tranpol Pricing policy of floating ticket fare for riding high speed rail based on time- space compression Jui-Sheng Chou * , Ya-Ling Chien, Ngoc-Mai Nguyen, Dinh-Nhat Truong Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan ARTICLE INFO Keywords: High-speed rail Time-space compression Time-space map Pricing policy Operations management Passenger perception ABSTRACT The Taiwan high-speed rail (HSR) markedly reduces the travel time from the north of Taiwan to the south, or vice versa, relative to other modes of public overland transportation. The HSR is faster than those modes, but also more expensive to ride. The pricing of HSR tickets has gained limited public acceptance because it lacks justification, indicating the need for a theoretical method for objectively justifying the ticket prices. With continuing improvements in data analytics, the computational capacity of computers, and visualization tech- niques, constructing a time–space model of a long-distance transportation system has become increasingly feasible, and such a model can be used to examine the time–space compression of the HSR. The first part of this investigation uses multidimensional scaling to obtain fitting coordinates based on travel times for various combinations of departure/destination HSR stations, and a geographic information system to generate time–- space maps of the relative locations of those stations. Through these maps, we can directly estimate the traveling time between pairs of stations. The second part constructs a floating ticket-pricing model that accounts for the riding costs of the HSR. The model's power to explain the prices of HSR tickets is evaluated. Based on the analytical results, suggestions to the current HSR ticket fare were proposed to set the feasible rate concerning the operating, passenger-perceived, and time-space compression costs. Recommendations for future research are made. 1. Introduction The implementation of the “one fixed day off and one flexible rest day” working-day reform policy has had profound effects on domestic economic development, individual attitudes toward leisure, and com- pany leave benefits. Partially as a result of the policy, the Taiwanese public has become increasingly eager to improve their standard of living and engage in leisure activities; the perceived value of time and the quality of transportation services has also been growing. Accordingly, the service quality, convenience, safety, comfort, punc- tuality, travel time, and ticket fares of transportation services warrant investigation (Andersson et al., 2010; Jen and Hu, 2003; Sumaedi et al., 2012). The service portfolio of the Taiwanese middle- and long-distance transportation industry started with buses and trains, and it has re- cently incorporated the high-speed rail (HSR). Although the HSR con- siderably reduces overland travel time, its construction and operation have entailed substantial costs, so its ticket fares make it more ex- pensive than other modes of public overland transportation (Huang et al., 2018). In October 2013, HSR fares were raised for the first time since the operation of the rail system began in 2005 (by 9.69%), causing public disdain. In the knowledge economy of the 21th century, HSR operation managers should develop business strategies that satisfy the needs of their customers. With multiple transportation services to choose from, travelers place a growing emphasis on service quality, safety, and punctuality (Lam and Huang, 2003). The HSR has the unrivalled advantage of reducing travel time, but it may attract merely passengers seeking to experience the rail service as a novelty if its managers fail adequately to respond to customer needs. In addition to exploiting the advantages of its trains and meeting customer needs, the HSR operator must sufficiently ad- dress public concerns about its rail service, enabling its operation. HSR trains expedite travel among regions of Taiwan, altering the socioeconomics of space (Banister and Givoni, 2013; Bullock et al., 2009; Givoni, 2006; Hall and Pain, 2006). Therefore, the HSR in Taiwan has caused time–space compression of varying uniformity in the geographical areas along its route. A map can compare the effects of time–space compression before and after the construction of the HSR. Increasing the ridership of the HSR necessitates an investigation into the behavioral intentions of passengers. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2018.06.006 Received 15 October 2017; Received in revised form 23 May 2018; Accepted 19 June 2018 * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: jschou@mail.ntust.edu.tw (J.-S. Chou), andreachien0517@gmail.com (Y.-L. Chien), nnmai264@gmail.com (N.-M. Nguyen), D10605806@mail.ntust.edu.tw (D.-N. Truong). Transport Policy 69 (2018) 179–192 Available online 06 July 2018 0967-070X/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T