Abstract
The present research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a three-week free public transport card in encouraging people to commute to work using public transport both in the short term (while the incentive is in place) and long term (after the incentive is removed). Moreover, we tested effects of the free public transport card on motivations to use public transport. Findings from our longitudinal field study showed that participants had strong intentions to use public transport while the incentive was in place, but intentions to commute to work using public transport decreased in the long-term, suggesting that the incentive was effective while in place, but not when it was removed. Moreover, participants rated the financial motives to commute to work using public transport as less important after the incentive was removed, suggesting that financial incentives provide people with a temporary motive to engage in the desired behaviour, which may explain the short-term effectiveness of the incentive. We did not observe that the free public transport card crowded out participants’ intrinsic motivation to travel by public transport. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Highlights
Mitigating climate change requires people to consistently engage in pro-environmental behaviours (IPCC, 2018)
Attrition analysis showed that participants who dropped out at the post-intervention measurement did not differ from those who completed the questionnaires both at pre- and post-intervention on: intrinsic motivation, F (1, 364) = 1.51, p = .219; importance rating of financial motives, F (1, 355) = 0.80, p = .373; importance rating of environmental motives, F (1, 356) = 0.86, p = .347; importance rating of symbolic motives, F (1, 356) = 0.51, p = .478; importance rating of accessibility motives, F (1, 356) = 0.002, p = .968); intentions to use public transport after the three-week free incentive, F (1, 299) = 1.89, p =
The present research evaluated the effectiveness of a financial incentive, namely a three-week free public transport card, in encour aging people to commute to work using public transport instead of their car both in the short-term, while the incentive was in place, and in the long-term, after the incentive was no longer in place
Summary
Mitigating climate change requires people to consistently engage in pro-environmental behaviours (IPCC, 2018). Exam ples are introducing financial rewards to encourage people to conserve energy and free bus tickets to encourage people to try out public transport (Bamberg, 2006; Van Der Linden, 2015). Such strategies promoted the target pro-environmental behaviour in the short-term, yet, financial incentives may not always result in the desired consistent long-term behavioural changes (Bolderdijk & Steg, 2015; Bolderdijk et al, 2011; Maki et al, 2016). It is important to study why financial incentives may or may not lead to maintained behaviour change, as this may provide important insights into how to improve incentives in such a way that they can result in long-term behaviour changes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
