Analysis of ground access modes choice King Khaled International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Saad N. Alhussein ⇑ King Saud University, College of Arts, Department of Geography, P.O. Box 2454, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia article info Keywords: Access modes Airports King Khaled International Airport Riyadh Saudi Arabia Binary logit model abstract Airports are vital to the transportation system because air travel is the fastest means of transporting peo- ple and goods around the world. Airports also connect aviation systems with other modes of transporta- tion. As a result, access modes to airports are critical to the aviation system, and studying air passenger deci- sions regarding mode choice is an essential part of airport management and system planning. Though there has been systematic analysis of car use to access airports, there has been less systematic attention to the use of the public transport system, especially the taxi service. The aim of this study is to identify King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) access mode characteristics and users, which has not been investigated previously concentrating on the mix between car and taxi using data collected specif- ically for this research. More than half (55.5%) of the travelers surveyed arrived at KKIA by private car; taxi and limousine pas- sengers accounted for 42.2% of the sample. The Saudi Public Transit Company (SAPTCO), transported only 2.3% of the air passengers surveyed. These results are similar to findings for an airport in the United States and very different from findings for an airports in the East (e.g., Hong Kong). A binary logit model was developed to evaluate the access mode choice. It was found that income, lug- gage, travel access time, and nationality significantly affect mode choice. Results provide insight for improved planning of access to KKIA. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Airports are an essential resource for contemporary living. They play a major role in transporting people and goods around the world. Furthermore, airports connect air travelers with other modes of transportation. Therefore, an airport can be seen as a node that is connected to ground travel. Because air and ground systems are interrelated, they affect each other. Airport administrators and authorities more often than not face problems related to ground traffic at and around their airports. Ground traffic problems can have a negative impact on the man- agement of air traffic, and air travelers consider traffic congestion on roads connecting them to airports a burden. Ground traffic problems have negative economic, safety, environmental, and social impacts as well. It is possible the quality of access to an airport is likely to influence the demand for its air services. Hence managing this traffic is important for travelers and airport admin- istrators alike, and effective management depends on an understanding of the characteristics of access modes used by air travelers. Khaled International Airport (KKIA) is located 35 km (22 miles) north of the center of Riyadh metropolitan area (Fig. 1), which is considered to be the gateway of the capital city of Saudi Arabia and the hub of the national air transportation system. KKIA has witnessed a steady increase in passengers over the last decade. In 2009, KKIA handled a volume of traffic of almost 13 mil- lion passengers (Fig. 2), of which almost 6 million were interna- tional. These represented 33% of Saudi Arabia’s air traffic. There are three access transportation modes to KKIA: private cars, taxis and limousines, and a public transit service. The public transit is provided by Saudi Public Transport Co. (SAPTCO). It has a very limited service with only six trips to the airport daily from only one location, the Public Transport Center, located on the south side of Riyadh. No access fees or tolls are associated with travel to the airport. Taxicabs are mostly operated by individuals, and limousines are operated by companies. In the Riyadh metropolitan area, there are 270 taxi and limousine companies (MOT, 2010). All taxi and limousine companies can provide access services to KKIA. However, only certain taxi and limousine companies that are 0966-6923/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2011.07.007 ⇑ Tel.: +966 14697089; fax: +966 14697397. E-mail address: hussein@ksu.edu.sa Journal of Transport Geography 19 (2011) 1361–1367 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Transport Geography journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jtrangeo