New research from the Italian University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli into the “hedonic quality” of bus terminals and their effects on users’ consumer behavior has shown an offsetting cost-benefit that correlates to better ridership where there is a higher quality of architectural design. 

Satisfied by the aesthetics of virtual shelters or terminals, the paper found “the Italian tourist is willing to spend up to €4.35/trip more for a high-quality bus waiting space or travel up to 28.2 min/trip more, instead of using a traditional bus terminal for the same trip.” These findings add to a body of existing scholarship on urban psychology and behavioral economics. The authors noted the corresponding benefit of reducing emissions from motor vehicles, especially in the center of major population areas. 

“In my opinion this is a disruptive result for transport operators and planners,” the paper's coauthor, Armando Cartenì from the university's Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, said to Bloomberg, who first reported his findings last week. “It means that there are other attributes, in addition to the traditional ones of waiting time, travel time and ticket cost, to attract users to bus transport. It is what I call the ‘beauty brand.’”