# Modeling Public Transportation Use Among Short-Term Rental Guests in Madrid
## 4 Discussion and Conclusions
Additionally, Madrid's Low-Emission Zone (LEZ) restricts access to certain vehicles in the central area, further discouraging the use ofprivate cars. Therefore, while tourists with private vehicles tend to use PT less, this effect is primarily observed among those in the high-usage category. The duration of stay, measured by the number of nights, was not found to be statistically significant in the model. This result contrasts with the findings reported by [16; 18; 27], but is consistent with those of [17; 19; 25], who observed similar patterns in their studies. One possible explanation for this outcome is that the majority of tourist stays fall within the one to five-night range (87% of the sample), which may not be sufficient for visitors to shift their behavior toward increased PT use due to fatigue from walking. An increased number of visited points of interest (POIs) was associated with higher PT usage among tourists. This may be due to the fact that visiting multiple POIs can lead tourists to favor PT over walking once they feel they have sufficiently explored the city on foot. This variable emerged as a more meaningful indicator of tourist activity than the number of nights spent in Madrid. A novel variable introduced in this study was the importance attributed to the PT network when selecting accommodation. Conventional tourists who stay in hotels may not prioritize PT access, as hotels are typically located in central areas with generally good connectivity. In contrast, assigning greater importance to the PT network was associated with higher levels of PT usage among tourists. This suggests that travelers who engage in more detailed trip planning are more likely to utilize PT during their stay. Another novel aspect of this study is the inclusion of the accommodation zone as a predictor of public transport usage, which has been used in limited research [22; 24]. Compared to tourists staying in the city center, those with accommodations in the central almond exhibited higher levels of PT use. Furthermore, tourists staying in the city's periphery demonstrated even greater PT usage than those in the central almond. These results suggest that tourists located out of the city center, where most tourist attractions and restaurants are concentrated, tend to rely more heavily on PT to cover longer distances efficiently. This finding might be related to the fact that the negotiation strategies of those staying outside of the city center do not affect the use of PT, because of the limited transportation options [22], so moving with PT is a necessity for those staying far from the city center. This fact also implies that peripheral urban areas, which may experience growth in short-term rental accommodations in the coming years, should be well connected to both the city center and other key tourist zones. Enhancing connectivity in these peripheral areas, where accommodation is typically more affordable, could increase their attractiveness to tourists and stimulate greater spending in local businesses [11; 12]. Although tourists' satisfaction with public transport and mode choice is primarily influenced by service delivery and travel time, whereas residents' satisfaction depends more on qualitative factors [34; 35; 36], enhancing bus service frequency and coverage would not only improve the experience for tourists but also strengthen intra-city connectivity, thereby increasing mobility for residents. Based on the findings of this research, several policy measures can help enhance public transport use among tourists staying in short-term rentals, a key step toward promoting more decentralized urban tourism. These include incentivizing the use of public transport over private vehicles (e.g., free transport days and better information on parking restrictions), adjusting service frequency on weekends to reflect tourist demand, and improving usability for international visitors through multilingual digital cards, clear instructions, and app recommendations.