The Impact of High-Speed Railways on Unequal Accessibility Based on Ticket Prices in Korea

Kyungtaek Kim and Junghoon Kim
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Kyungtaek Kim: The Korea Transport Institute, Sejong 30147, Korea
Junghoon Kim: Department of Saemaul Studies and International Development, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Korea

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 16, 1-17

Abstract: The high-speed railway (HSR) has affected accessibility at diverse spatial levels. Although previous studies have examined HSR impacts on accessibility and inequality, the price attribute in estimating accessibility is less noted. This study evaluates the effects of HSR on unequal accessibility at the South Korean national level, capital and non-capital regions and according to urban population sizes by comparing ticket prices to time values. There are two major conclusions of this study. First, an increase in time value through national growth or other exogenous conditions maximizes HSR impact and, thus, increases accessibility. For example, when the time value is 9.98 USD/h, the national HSR access inequality is reduced by 0.56%. However, when the time value is 6.02 USD/h, the reduction in the national inequality by the HSR is 0.19%. Second, if considering generalized travel time, HSR impact is maximized in medium cities rather than in large cities. When the time value is 6.02 USD/h (or 9.98 USD/h), the change in inequality between cities is −0.4% (−1.29%) in medium cities, while large cities show a −0.08% (−0.9%) reduction in access inequality.

Keywords: high-speed rail; accessibility; inequality; Korea train eXpress; ticket price (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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