A Cluster Analysis of University Commuters: Attitudes, Personal Norms and Constraints, and Travel Satisfaction.

Marco De Angelis,Luca Pietrantoni,Luca Mantecchini

doi:10.3390/ijerph18094592

Marco De Angelis, Luca Pietrantoni + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094592

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Abstract

Higher education institutions are recognised as settings where the community’s awareness of sustainable mobility can be strengthened or reshaped. The first objective of the present study was to identify groups of commuters based on their modal choice in a large higher education institution in Italy. The second objective was to compare the groups on socio-demographic and psychosocial variables, specifically attitudes, personal norms, personal constraints, and travel satisfaction. The cluster analysis revealed five different types of commuters: car-oriented, two-wheeled urban users, pedestrians, long-distance commuters, and regular bus users. Attitudes, personal constraints and norms, and satisfaction differed in the five groups of commuters. The present study provides insights for behavioural change programmes and organizational policies on sustainable mobility.

Highlights

National and local authorities are increasingly developing and applying measures and strategies to reduce the environmental impacts of daily commuting, promoting active and sustainable transport modes
Respondents in this group tended to adopt a multimodal strategy; 73.6% of participants changed the mode of transport three times along the commuting trip
Individuals use the car more frequently for commuting and individuals who use their car more frequently have greater pride in their vehicle [55]. These findings advocate the prominence of relevant psychosocial mechanism of university commuters and extend the literature on personal norms and travel satisfaction

Summary

Introduction

National and local authorities are increasingly developing and applying measures and strategies to reduce the environmental impacts of daily commuting, promoting active and sustainable transport modes. The possibility of designing sustainable mobility models together with organisational practices is a matter of social and institutional responsibility or sustainability goals and personal and organisational well-being. There is a growing consensus that organisations should actively contribute with policies to promote sustainable behaviours [1]. A plethora of different psychosocial factors influences mode choice, such as values, attitudes, and personal norms and constraints. Psychosocial factors are helpful to obtain a better understanding of mode choice behaviour [2,3,4].

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