Providing a Pricing Model for Shuttle Taxi Services in Isfahan City

Document Type : Research Note

Authors

1 Faculty of Civil Engineering, Road and Transportation Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Najaf Abad branch.

2 Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran.

3 Department of Railway Engineering and Transportation Planning, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transportation, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

In the city of Isfahan, taxi lines, as one of the most widely used methods of public transportation, make a significant contribution to the daily movement of people. The current fares are set in a way that not only do they not meet the costs of the service providers, but also lead to the dissatisfaction of the drivers and passengers. Therefore, the necessity of revising the pricing system of shuttle taxi services in order to fully cover the costs, the profit of the drivers, and the satisfaction of the passengers is clearly felt. This research is based on the assumptions that form its basis, including the lack of response of the current fares to the costs of providing taxi services and the failure to consider the time parameter in the pricing of taxi services. The main goal of this research is to determine pricing in a way that covers all the costs of providing the service, along with a certain profit for the taxi providers. The research method in this study focuses on price modeling based on the final cost method. First, the parameters affecting the price have been identified, and then the contribution of each parameter to the total cost has been determined. In the following, the navigation cost for each kilometer is calculated, and finally, a price model that includes all costs along with 20% profit for four different modes of operating a shuttle taxi is presented. Taxi fares are calculated based on the distance and travel time of passengers, and different pricing strategies are used for different hours to manage demand. This strategy sets prices higher during peak hours and lower during off-peak hours to help manage demand. This method will encourage people to use taxis during off-peak hours, and at the same time, the promotion of drivers to provide services during high-traffic hours will remain. The results of this research provide valuable insight into the pricing dynamics of taxi services in different conditions and based on the length of different routes. For example, the cost of traveling by Samand taxi is 32183 riyals per kilometer. Also, in the conditions of traffic congestion, the increase in the cost of each kilometer of travel has been calculated to be 38016 Riyals. These results show that for long distances, such as the Bozorgmehr Bridge-Khorasgan University, the current fares are not enough to cover the costs.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Sharif Journal of Civil Engineering
Volume 41, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
October 2025
Pages 104-113

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