Empirical analysis of travellers’ routine choice of means of transport in Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

The present study identifies groups of travellers according to their routine choice of means of transport in the context of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region. Clustering procedures are used to classify travellers according to the self-reported frequency of use of different travel modes. The extracted segments are then profiled with regards to their residence location, socioeconomic traits, access to a car, and other factors that relate to routines becoming habits – (low) use of travel information and disproportionate use of their preferred means of transport. This exercise is of great interest because the incidence of driving habits and other psychological determinants of (un)sustainable travel mode choice are under-researched factors in Barcelona. Data was retrieved from the Survey of Daily Mobility of Catalonia 2006. We identified seven relatively homogeneous segments of transport users, of which two groups are routine users of private vehicles for whom their modal choice is apparently disconnected from situational factors, namely Motorcycle enthusiasts and Car drivers. These groups also share common traits regarding their minimal use of travel information and narrow modal mix (unimodality). The results suggest that it may be valuable to explore the issue of driving habits formation in the context of Barcelona in depth, as it has implications for the design of environmental policy for transport.