One of the important aspects of transport modeling is to assess and predict the travelrnchoice behavior. The travel choice behavior is also referred to as traveler mode choice,rnwhich is the most frequently modeled travel decision. It involves a specific aspect ofrnhuman behavior dedicated to choice decisions. With a model, as simplifiedrnrepresentation of a part of reality provides a better understanding and interpreting ofrnthese complex systems. assessing how the existing modes are chosen rather it alsornhelps to know ahead how the traveler reacts or how much of the traveler shifts fromrnwhich mode by what factor this will help the transport planner making an operationrnplan for the newly introduced means of transport.rnTherefore the study of the paper is mode choice behavior of employees and studentsrnin a specific selected study area in Addis Ababa which is from Ayat to Megenagnarnfollowing the Light rail transit (LRT)system because the paper also assess the modalrnshift from the existing modes to LRT.rnA multinomial logit model (MNL) is widely used model in the discrete choice model andrnit has many computational advantages. Therefore a MNL with statistical datarnprocessing software SPSS 20 (Statistical analysis in social science) was used forrnexplaining travel patterns and mode choice of both employees and students in thernstudy area.rnThe development process of the multinomial logit model for work and school trips arerncomposed of three main phases of work: (1) to conduct an initial pilot survey in orderrnto determine the most relevant attributes to the travelers, (2) to conduct a combinedrnrevealed preference and stated preference survey and (3) to test and estimate thernutility function specifications for the multinomial logit (MNL) models for work and schoolrntrips and also(4) the study attempts to estimate the demand or the major factor ofrnmodal shift to LRT for both school and work trips.rnIn order to determine the â€œbestâ€ model specification for the corridor, a series ofrnalternative specifications of the utility functions of the MNL models were explored andrntested. The final MNL models showed a satisfactory goodness of fit.rnFinally it was identified that the significant factors for mode choice of employees wererntravel time, travel cost, work type and income. For the case of students the significantrnfactors were found to be travel time, travel cost, service cost and gender. It was alsornfound that both workers and students who travel longer distance choose Higer andrnAnbesa than taxi to decrease the transition time and energy wastage duringrntransferring from one taxi to another. The main modal shift to LRT is found that fromrnAnbesa, Higer followed by taxi the least interest is shown from private car users.rn(Key words: LRT, MNL model, mode choice modeling, stated preference survey)