Abstract
The design and implementation of effective transport policies to reduce car use in urban areas requires a deep comprehension of the factors that influence travel behavior. In this context, psychological factors play an important role in explaining travel-related decisions. The purpose of this paper is to present a study on the effects of cognitive, affective and behavioral attitudes towards the use of walking and cycling on both intentions and real use of cars, public transport, bicycles, and walking. The data used was obtained from an on-line survey carried out in 2017. Analyses included reliability and validity of the questionnaire, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and structural equation models. Results indicate that cycling and walking are evaluated differently in terms of feelings of freedom, pleasure, and relaxation. Positive evaluation of elements related to past walking behavior are negatively associated to both the intention to walk and actual walking. Transport policies to encourage cycling should be different from those with the aim of promoting walking. Positive attitudes towards walking are not enough to increase real walking.
Highlights
The reduction of car use is a transportation policy objective in most of the urban areas around the world to tackle pollution, accidents, noise, and the pressure on public space (EU, 2011)
The purpose of this work is to contribute to the study of how two important psychological factors, namely attitudes towards the use of travel modes, and the intentions to use those travel modes, influence on the actual travel behavior
The interrelations among cognitive, affective and behavioral attitudes towards walking and cycling, the intentions to use cars, public transport, bicycles, and walking, and the actual use of those travel modes, are analyzed. This travel behavior study is significant because the three-component model [10,11,12], which differentiates cognitive, affective and behavioral attitudes, is adopted to study the influence on travel behavior of a particular type of psychological factor: attitudes towards non-motorized travel modes
Summary
The reduction of car use is a transportation policy objective in most of the urban areas around the world to tackle pollution, accidents, noise, and the pressure on public space (EU, 2011). The design of effective soft transport measures requires a deep understanding of the factors that influence travel behavior In this context, psychological factors play and important role to change how people behave in terms of everyday travel [6,7,8,9]. The interrelations among cognitive, affective and behavioral attitudes towards walking and cycling, the intentions to use cars, public transport, bicycles, and walking, and the actual use of those travel modes, are analyzed This travel behavior study is significant because the three-component model [10,11,12], which differentiates cognitive, affective and behavioral attitudes, is adopted to study the influence on travel behavior of a particular type of psychological factor: attitudes towards non-motorized travel modes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in the travel behavior field that adopts the three-component model of attitudes
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