Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change Research Articles

The Role of Technophilia and User Goals in the Intention to Use a Mobility Management Travel App

The ubiquitous use of mobile devices along with the amount of traffic, transportation services, and travel pattern data available has led to the emergence and deployment of smartphone applications for providing information about personal travel management. Several of these travel apps are aimed at voluntary travel behavior change (VTBC) to support and increase sustainable mobility, and have led to the development of research to investigate their influence on travel behavior. Here, the aim is to study the role of technophilia and goal-framing theory in the intention to adopt and situationally use a prospective VTBC travel app. A Structural Equation Model is developed with the aim of empirically testing a sample of 971 respondents collected in two suburban corridors in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. The results support that goal-framing theory is important for explaining the adoption of VTBC travel apps. Gain and normative motives are more relevant than hedonic motives, pointing to the importance of their tangible benefits. Frequent car users may benefit from VTBC travel apps in terms of encouraging behavioral changes, supporting sustainable mobility management solutions. The results also outline the importance of technophilia and the current use of travel apps in influencing the intention to use VTBC apps.

Investigating heterogeneity in travel behaviour change when implementing soft transport interventions: A latent class choice model

AbstractAttracting more travellers to shift towards green modes plays a significant role in sustainable transportation development. Soft transport interventions are important strategies for facilitating voluntary travel behaviour change. This study investigates the effects of two soft transport interventions, information intervention and public transport service improvement, on heterogeneous traveller groups’ behaviour change. Beijing, China was selected as the case study site. Firstly, three heterogenous traveller groups were identified based on latent class cluster analysis: Group A (20.4%, travel in low‐frequency and prefer multimode), Group B (30.3%, travel in middle‐frequency and prefer the car) and Group C (49.3%, travel in high frequency and prefer green modes). Then, latent class choice models under two transport interventions were established respectively. The findings indicate that information intervention decreases Group B's preference for car use and exclusion of bicycles. Little effect is observed on travel behaviour change of Group A and C. Public transport service improvement significantly reduces car use of Group B and C. This study demonstrates a limited influence of information intervention on travel behaviour change and public transport service improvement is effective in achieving car use reduction. The results provide decision makers with the information needed to target interventions for different traveller groups.

Encouraging Sustainable Campus Travel: Self-Reported Impacts of a University TravelSmart Initiative

At the start of the 2004 and 2005 academic years, a voluntary travel behavior change program targeted incoming first-year students at the Clayton Campus of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Analysis of before and after travel surveys identified a significant effect in terms of reducing single occupant commuting and increasing public transport use. Nearly one in four of the students who participated in the TravelSmart initiative indicated it had influenced them to the extent of thinking about using, trying, or regularly using alternatives to solo driving to campus. The information provided about public transport services was the most valued element of the program. A range of barriers to further behavior change are identified to overcome a number of those impediments and thereby increase the use of environmentally friendly modes for commuting to campus.

COVID-19′s impact on older adults’ cycling behaviors in a small, auto-centric urban area

Research has shown an increase in cycling during COVID-19. This study builds on previous work by exploring COVID’s impact on older cyclists (65+) residing in a small, auto-centric urban area. A survey (n = 198) demonstrated that, on average, cycling frequency decreased and average distance/trip increased. This suggests a less pronounced impact among older adults residing in a small urban area. However, interviews (n = 24) showed that cycling during the pandemic was associated with feelings of accomplishment, enjoyment, improved self-esteem, and increased freedom by allowing them to get out despite social distancing requirements. Further, among respondents reporting increased cycling (n = 76), most (79 %) plan to maintain cycling habits post-pandemic, citing reasons such as personal health, enjoyment, and the social aspect of cycling. These findings could support efforts promoting cycling among older adults, pointing to aspects for designing voluntary travel behavior change (VTBC) programs.

Modelling commuting tours versus non-commuting tours for university students. A panel data analysis from different contexts

University students’ mobility represents a significant part of the mobility demand, since the right to mobility becomes yet more significant, as it directly translates into the right to education. At the same time, lifestyle evolution and changes has yield to a boost in the number of non-commuting tours, which are now recognized as a key component of any travel demand system. However, their analysis is often overlooked due to their randomness and difficult detectability.Motivated by this shortfall, the current study sought to explore the university students’ mobility by focusing on i) a comparison among commuting and non-commuting tour, ii) analysing non-commuting patterns and iii) identifying factors affecting the tour generation. A joint mixed logit model was specified and estimated using panel data collected in two Italian Universities (Cagliari and Rome).This study represents a pilot test conducted for the purpose of providing scientific justification for implementing Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change programmes and Travel Demand Management policies in Italian Universities. Our results indicate that the number of non-commuting tours, when compared with commuting tours, is not negligible (around 28% of tours are non-commuting tours) and we detected no-significant differences between Cagliari and Rome with respect to the tour characteristics. In Cagliari women, individuals who have a high number of household members, people living in areas characterized by high building densities and a small number of shops, and in Rome students living in small families and those who own a car, are more apt to travel for discretionary purposes.

The role of businesses in facilitating voluntary travel behaviour change - Insights from the London 2012 Olympic Games

The organisers of the London 2012 Olympics faced transport congestion challenges whose resolution required travel behaviour change across an entire transport network. This study evaluates the role of Transport for London's (TfL) £30 m business-focussed Travel Demand Management (TDM) programme in achieving significant traveller behaviour change across its entire transport network. The paper argues that soft TDM measures, together with a targeted ‘hard-edge’ message, alongside travel alternatives, can achieve significant voluntary travel behaviour change (VTBC) across a whole transport network, despite such behaviour normally being habitual.Incorporating a longitudinal study comprised of pre-and post-Games qualitative interviews, office attendance data and analysis of TfL's travel survey with Ajzen's (1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour, this research highlights the importance of reliable information, freedom of choice, and faith in the effectiveness of the measures proposed, in eliciting acceptance of the TDM policy. The results also demonstrate the importance of a relevant, hard-edge message in the form of a ‘big scare’—which operates as a ‘catalyst-for-change’ (CfC), breaking habit by increasing cognitive engagement and acceptance—as well as the importance of the role of businesses in delivering significant levels of voluntary travel behavioural change. The findings contribute to the evaluation of methods for achieving actual VTBC, which could be instrumental in enacting the large-scale travel behaviour changes required to meet international environmental objective of reducing carbon resource consumption by both businesses and individuals.

Modal Shift from Car to Bus: A French Case Study in a Rural Context Based on an Integrated Psychosocial Approach

Abstract The main goal of this study was to demonstrate relevance of an integrated approach including psychosocial determinants of voluntary travel behavior change (VTBC). The study, conducted in France, aimed to influence car users to use public transport. Compared to previous VTBC programs, this one proposes a more qualitative accompanying framework to participants. Car users participated in the program based on a committing recruitment, an individualized counseling meeting, and a free monthly travel card on public transport, altogether creating a strong commitment context for long-term behavior change. Results reveal the effectiveness of the method since a majority of test travelers continue to use public transport up to three months. Moreover, the program increases the positive attitude toward the bus and “mobility capital” of participants.

How to Save Bike-Sharing: An Evidence-Based Survival Toolkit for Policy-Makers and Mobility Providers

A new mobility ethos is needed for cities looking to overcome the problems that have been accumulated for decades by a transport paradigm that prioritises automobiles over people. Bike-sharing, a measure promoting voluntary travel behaviour change, could be part of a refined toolbox that will help in forging this new ethos. Despite a rapid emergence during the last handful of years, as evidenced by 1956 operational local schemes and approximately 15,254,400 self-service public use bicycles across the world, bike-sharing has been attracting negative attention lately. Tens of schemes have closed down, deemed as financial or operational failures, stigmatising bike-sharing’s brand and putting the future of the concept itself in jeopardy. However, discounting bike-sharing as flawed may not be fair or accurate. This paper identifies a formula of success for bike-sharing operations based on a state-of-the-art case study analysis, which is supported by primary data evidence from two survey-based studies in Sweden and Greece. This paper suggests that residents in cities hosting or looking to host bike-sharing schemes are usually very supportive of them but not always likely to use them. More importantly, this paper delivers some key policy and business lessons that form a survival guide for effectively introducing and running public bicycle schemes. These lessons include, among others, the need for: tailoring the system design and expansion strategy according to the host city needs, city-operator and commercial partner synergies, more bike-friendly infrastructure and legislation, pro-active cultural engagement, anti-abuse measures, enhanced fleet management and realistic profit expectations.

Exploring parental perceptions about school travel and walking school buses: A thematic analysis approach

Establishing a less car-oriented mobility ethos through initiatives targeting, among others, children’s travel to school could be a key for unlocking the potential for a more sustainable future. A Walking School Bus (WSB) is a relatively new and scarcely evaluated commuting mechanism that in theory provides a creative scheme capable of inspiring voluntary travel behaviour change for children and parents. Through a series of in-depth focus group sessions that were conducted in Bradford, UK this article explores the perceptions of parents that are ultimately the decision-makers about how their children go to school. This work improves the understanding of the different challenges and opportunities underpinning travel to school, in general, and WSBs, in particular, by identifying and discussing six thematic areas of critical importance that explain the decision-making behind potential WSB uptake. These are namely: logistics, safety, trust, health and wellbeing, emotional needs and educational opportunities. Finally, the paper provides policy recommendations about how WSB initiatives can become more effective and attractive mobility tools for local communities.

An assessment of Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change delivery in England as an alternative to highway construction

There is a growing body of international evidence available that shows highway construction fails to solve issues of congestion and improvements to the local economy. There is also evidence that due to changes of land use and expectations of being able to travel from the land opened for development that traffic is induced to the highway network. Alternative methods of managing travel demand; such has Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change (VTBC) initiatives have been delivered internationally. A significant VTBC scheme, called the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), was delivered in the United Kingdom between 2011 and 2015. This paper focuses on the people who delivered these initiatives, rather than the individuals required to change their behaviour. This is to understand how transport planners’ views influence the type of VTBC initiatives that were delivered. The study included a survey of 69 bid managers for LSTF projects and interviews with 17 council officers. The survey found that 80% transport planning officers understood the concept of induced traffic compared to just 10% of the wider population. It was also evident that the sample group was a homogenous group, where their views on issues such as climate change, congestion and the factors that influence how we travel were remarkably similar. The findings show that despite the evidence that highway construction does not provide a solution to travel demand, the decisions about which schemes are funded remain with non-transport experts, such as government ministers and local politicians, and this invariably leads to highway ‘solutions’ being chosen which limit the potential success of any VTBC initiative to create long-term change to travel behaviour.

Incorporation of coping planning into the behavior change model that accounts for implementation intention

Voluntary travel behavior change has been increasingly paid attention for promoting sustainable transportation. However, in the psychological process underlying the foundation of travel behavior change programs, the roles of volitional phase and its constructs have not been fully clarified. This research therefore incorporated coping planning, in addition to implementation intention, as two volitional constructs, to model the volitional phase of travel behavior change, and to investigate how the volitional constructs mediate between behavioral intention and behavior change. The data were collected from citizens in Taipei City, Taiwan, by two questionnaires across a one-month period. The main results suggested that implementation intention mediated the effect of behavioral intention on car use change only through the mediation of coping planning; that coping planning mediated between behavioral intention and car use change; and that the effectiveness of personalized travel plans in behavior change could be attributed to the volitional constructs. Based on the findings, the behavior change model incorporating coping planning could account for the effectiveness of implementation intention in travel behavior. Further implications of implementation intention and coping planning, and potential extension of behavior change process were discussed.

Modal Share Change following Implementation of Travel Demand Management Strategies

The demand for urban mobility has seen a marked increase over the last few decades. The expansion of road networks, the increase in distance traveled and in the number of trips made has created car-dependent cities. One solution for achieving the switch from private car to public transport is the introduction of a new public transport line that improves the accessibility and frequency of service. However, an important behavioral process underpins travel choices and often a change in choice context is not sufficient to evoke behavior change. Voluntary travel behavior change (VTBC) programs were developed for heightening individuals’ awareness of the consequences of their travel choices and of the benefits to be reaped from using sustainable alternatives, through information provision and communication strategies. The objective of the present paper is to analyze the effect on travel mode choice of introducing a new light railway line into the choice set (hard measure) when implementing a VTBC program on a large scale, but with a high degree of personalization (soft measure). Although numerous studies have demonstrated the need to implement a (hard) measure that acts on the choice context, in combination with a (soft) measure that acts in a personalized way on demand, as far as the authors are aware, few have put this into practice. The first results have shown that a combination of hard and soft measures is more effective in evoking travel behavior change and personalized travel plans produce better results than generalized soft measures.

Automatic data collection for detecting travel behavior: the IPET platform

The purpose of this paper is to analyze a mobile system developed both for collecting daily trips and activities information and for promoting sustainable means of transport. Use of a technological device is a first step towards implementing tools that allow more accurate activity and travel data to be collected compared to traditional methods and communication with individuals for persuading them to choose environmentally friendly modes of transport. Nowadays such systems are essential in transport research for designing Voluntary Travel Behavior Change programs [1]. This work presents the outcome of two pilot tests conducted using the IPET platform (Individual Persuasive Eco-Travel Technology [2]), developed for managing a Personalized campaign to promote sustainable means of transport. The two tests, each conducted on a small appropriate sample, had different goals. The first was to test the App and modify/improve it on the basis of users’ suggestions, before large-scale implementation; the second to assess the efficacy of the platform in terms of data collection and travel behavior change. Test results showed that the platform is easy to use and could be effective, once implemented further, for collecting and analyzing large amounts of data on mobility.

The influence of activity-travel patterns on the success of VTBC

ABSTRACTThe objective of this work is to verify how the complexity of activity-travel patterns may influence the propensity to change travel behaviour in the context of a Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change (VTBC) programme. Data used in this work was drawn from a VTBC programme implemented in Cagliari, Italy between 2011 and 2012, for promoting the use of an underutilised Light Rail service (LR). A descriptive comparative analysis of activity–travel patterns recorded before and after the delivery of a personalised travel plan was reported. In addition to the descriptive analysis, a panel Probit model is proposed to further understand the influence of complex trip-chaining behaviours on the propensity to change travel behaviours. The results indicate that when individuals are presented with a convenient transport alternative that allows them to flexibly chain their activities, the propensity to use a sustainable mode of transport increases.Abbreviations: ABA: activity – based analysis; AW: after work tour; BW: before work tour; CMS: casteddu mobility styles; CW: complex working day; HWC: home to work commute tour; LR: light rail; NHB: non home based tour; NNW: non work tour; NW: non working day; P&R: park and rider; PP&R: prospective park and rider; PTP: personalised travel plan; SW: simple working day; VTBC: voluntary travel behaviour change; WB: work based tour

The impact of voluntary travel behavior change measures – A meta-analytical comparison of quasi-experimental and experimental evidence

Personal travel planning (PTP) is generally regarded as an effective approach to voluntary travel behavior change in the domain of transportation research. However, this view has recently been challenged by findings from another research domain, public health research, reporting little or no effect of PTP-based interventions. We argue that these conflicting results regarding the effectiveness of PTP-based measures are due to different understandings of which research designs should be used: Transportation research tends to be based on large-scale quasi-experimental designs whereas public health research tends to favor experimental designs such as randomized control trials (RCTs). Consequently, we argue, the discrepancy may at least partly be resolved by a more nuanced position on what empirical evidence really matters when evaluating if an intervention is effective or not. In the empirical part of the paper, we meta-analytically re-analyze ten quasi-experimental PTP evaluation studies and report an experimental RCT-based study testing the effectiveness of a PTP strategy implemented in a major German city. Including all information in one meta-analytical synthesis yields a standardized effect size estimate of Cohen’s h=0.12, documenting a small but reliable effect of PTP interventions. When implementing a PTP like one of those analyzed in this paper, in other words, we can expect an average reduction of the car modal split share of about 5 percentage points. We close by discussing the implications of our results for future PTP evaluation studies and the dispute about what kind of empirical evidence really matters when evaluating the effectiveness of PTP measures.

Individual Persuasive Eco‐travel Technology, a mobile persuasive application for implementing voluntary travel behaviour change programmes

This study presents a voluntary travel behaviour change (VTBC) programme that involves the use of a technology platform. The platform has been developed both for enhancing the efficacy of the implementation and for highlighting the contribution that technology itself can provide in persuasion strategies. It can be applied in the VTBC implementation for encouraging individuals to reduce car use, mitigating global greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, the proposed platform is designed to automate phases and activities of a VTBC programme, with a view to extending it to the large scale, reducing the resource commitment. Indeed, technology could contribute to facilitating the operational and functional aspects, through the implementation of automated VTBC programmes, broadening their applicability while maintaining effectiveness. Furthermore, technology can be persuasive in changing behaviour.

Lessons learned from a personalized travel planning (PTP) research program to reduce car dependence

Voluntary travel behavior change programs have been implemented worldwide since the late 1990s at a personal and community level. Most of the now completed programs were commissioned by local authorities to commercial firms, in an attempt to reduce private car use. In this context, the evaluation and review of the reliability of these policy measures have been at the core of most of the debates and studies in this field. In this paper, we describe the lessons learned from a research program funded by the Sardinian Government (Italy), aimed at testing a soft transport policy measure for reducing car dependence. In particular, the work reviews in detail the methodological approach and participants’ feedback on a personalized travel plan (PTP). After implementation of the soft measure, the PTP participants were divided into two groups depending on whether they had reduced car use or not, and separate analyses were conducted to highlight the factors underlying different behavior change decisions. General conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the PTP are beyond the scope of the present study.

I-Pet Individual Persuasive Eco-travel Technology: A Tool for VTBC Program Implementation

Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change programs aim to improve both community information and awareness about personal contributions to the negative effects produced by private car use. Indeed, providing individuals with feedback (travel time and costs, CO2 emitted, etc.), as well as information about existing alternatives to the car, has been shown to motivate people to reduce car use.This paper presents the architecture of a technology platform constructed for the purpose of automating phases and activities of a Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change program, with a view to extending it to the large scale, reducing the resource commitment and enhancing the efficacy of the implementation.

An impact assessment of a travel behavior change program: A case study of a light rail service in Cagliari, Italy

This paper presents an experimental Voluntary Travel Behavior Change (VTBC) program implemented in Cagliari (Italy) for promoting a light rail service. More specifically (1) Personalized Travel Planning (PTP) and (2) Public Transport Information and Marketing (PTIM) are analyzed both as forming an integral part of a single VTBC program, as well as separately. Further, they are compared in order to evaluate their impact on travel behavior change.In particular, PTP offers personalized and customized travel solutions devised on the basis of individuals’ observed travel behavior, to encourage them to travel more sustainably while the PTIM uses more general information to promote public transit use through advertising campaigns. The results, in both cases, seem to have important policy implications. Specifically, the study confirms the importance of using motivational campaigns, combining PTP and PTIM approaches. In addition, the results indicate that providing car users with tailored travel solutions (PTP) could have a greater positive effect on behavioral change, than the mass communication approach (PTIM). PTIM was found to be useful for behavior change, but it would be more effective if used mostly as a recruitment tool for Personalized Travel Plans (PTP).

Modeling the Propensity to Use a Sustainable Mode in the Context of a Program of Voluntary Change in Travel Behavior

This paper proposes a modeling approach for evaluating the effect of a personalized travel plan on a sustainable mode choice. A panel binary probit was estimated by using the approach of composite marginal-likelihood estimation. The formulation modeled the choice of using a light rail service (versus that of not using it) by means of daily individual panel observations collected in the context of a program of voluntary travel behavior change (VTBC) before and after the provision of a personalized travel plan. In this regard, a VTBC program was a policy measure that used communication and information to encourage individuals to use more sustainable travel modes. In this study, the VTBC program was implemented by providing car users with personalized information about how to introduce the light rail service into their travel patterns.