IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/trapol/v24y2012icp48-59.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Travel mode switching: Comparison of findings from two public transportation experiments

Author

Listed:
  • Abou-Zeid, Maya
  • Ben-Akiva, Moshe

Abstract

In previous research, we conducted a small-scale experiment in Switzerland to study the effect of a temporary use of public transportation by habitual car drivers on their commute satisfaction and mode switching. This paper reports findings from a similar experiment conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a larger sample, focusing on mode switching differences between the two experiments. Whereas none of the Swiss participants switched, about 30% of MIT participants switched to public transportation after the intervention (or treatment). An analysis of the underlying reasons for these differences is presented, including individual socio-demographic factors, travel attributes and institutional transportation policies, experiment context, social influences, and psychological variables. The individual and behavioral variables are compared between those who switched to public transportation and those who did not, and pre- to post-treatment changes are analyzed. Those who switched to public transportation were more predisposed to switching, were more cost-conscious, and had more favorable perceptions and attitudes towards public transportation. Those who did not switch became happier with their cars. Implications for mode switching policies employing free public transportation tickets and for institutional transportation policies are drawn.

Suggested Citation

  • Abou-Zeid, Maya & Ben-Akiva, Moshe, 2012. "Travel mode switching: Comparison of findings from two public transportation experiments," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 48-59.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:24:y:2012:i:c:p:48-59
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2012.07.013
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X12001345
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tranpol.2012.07.013?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fujii, Satoshi & Taniguchi, Ayako, 2006. "Determinants of the effectiveness of travel feedback programs--a review of communicative mobility management measures for changing travel behaviour in Japan," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 339-348, September.
    2. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    3. Athanassopoulos, Antreas D., 2000. "Customer Satisfaction Cues To Support Market Segmentation and Explain Switching Behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 191-207, March.
    4. De Witte, Astrid & Macharis, Cathy & Mairesse, Olivier, 2008. "How persuasive is 'free' public transport?: A survey among commuters in the Brussels Capital Region," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 216-224, July.
    5. Satoshi Fujii & Ryuichi Kitamura, 2003. "What does a one-month free bus ticket do to habitual drivers? An experimental analysis of habit and attitude change," Transportation, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 81-95, February.
    6. S. Cairns & L. Sloman & C. Newson & J. Anable & A. Kirkbride & P. Goodwin, 2008. "Smarter Choices: Assessing the Potential to Achieve Traffic Reduction Using ‘Soft Measures’," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(5), pages 593-618, January.
    7. Anable, Jillian, 2005. "'Complacent Car Addicts' or 'Aspiring Environmentalists'? Identifying travel behaviour segments using attitude theory," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 65-78, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sottile, Eleonora & Giacchetti, Tommaso & Tuveri, Giovanni & Piras, Francesco & Calli, Daniele & Concas, Vittoria & Zamberlan, Leonardo & Meloni, Italo & Carrese, Stefano, 2021. "An innovative GPS smartphone based strategy for university mobility management: A case study at the University of RomaTre, Italy," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    2. Italo Meloni & Benedetta Sanjust di Teulada & Erika Spissu, 2017. "Lessons learned from a personalized travel planning (PTP) research program to reduce car dependence," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 853-870, July.
    3. Cass, Noel & Faulconbridge, James, 2016. "Commuting practices: New insights into modal shift from theories of social practice," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-14.
    4. Maya Abou-Zeid & Satoshi Fujii, 2016. "Travel satisfaction effects of changes in public transport usage," Transportation, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 301-314, March.
    5. Bamberg, Sebastian & Fujii, Satoshi & Friman, Margareta & Gärling, Tommy, 2011. "Behaviour theory and soft transport policy measures," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 228-235, January.
    6. Tomás Ruiz & Rosa Arroyo & Lidón Mars & Daniel Casquero, 2018. "Effects of a Travel Behaviour Change Program on Sustainable Travel," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-22, December.
    7. Grischkat, Sylvie & Hunecke, Marcel & Böhler, Susanne & Haustein, Sonja, 2014. "Potential for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through the use of mobility services," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 295-303.
    8. Yoon-Young Chun & Mitsutaka Matsumoto & Kiyotaka Tahara & Kenichiro Chinen & Hideki Endo, 2019. "Exploring Factors Affecting Car Sharing Use Intention in the Southeast-Asia Region: A Case Study in Java, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-26, September.
    9. Schwanen, Tim & Banister, David & Anable, Jillian, 2012. "Rethinking habits and their role in behaviour change: the case of low-carbon mobility," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 522-532.
    10. Santos, Georgina & Behrendt, Hannah & Teytelboym, Alexander, 2010. "Part II: Policy instruments for sustainable road transport," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 46-91.
    11. Cools, Mario & Fabbro, Yannick & Bellemans, Tom, 2016. "Free public transport: A socio-cognitive analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 96-107.
    12. Wolf, Ingo & Schröder, Tobias, 2019. "Connotative meanings of sustainable mobility: A segmentation approach using cultural sentiments," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 259-280.
    13. Sonja Haustein, 2012. "Mobility behavior of the elderly: an attitude-based segmentation approach for a heterogeneous target group," Transportation, Springer, vol. 39(6), pages 1079-1103, November.
    14. Adam Rosenfield & John P. Attanucci & Jinhua Zhao, 2020. "A randomized controlled trial in travel demand management," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1907-1932, August.
    15. Fu, Xuemei & Juan, Zhicai, 2017. "Exploring the psychosocial factors associated with public transportation usage and examining the “gendered” difference," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 70-82.
    16. Paula Vicente & Elizabeth Reis, 2016. "Profiling public transport users through perceptions about public transport providers and satisfaction with the public transport service," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 387-403, December.
    17. Thigpen, Calvin, 2017. "The Reciprocal Relationship between Children and Young Adults' Travel Behavior and Their Travel Attitudes, Skills, and Norms," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt383679dd, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    18. Jinhyun Hong & David Philip McArthur & Mark Livingston, 2019. "Can Accessing the Internet while Travelling Encourage Commuters to Use Public Transport Regardless of Their Attitude?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-10, June.
    19. Dacko, Scott G. & Spalteholz, Carolin, 2014. "Upgrading the city: Enabling intermodal travel behaviour," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 222-235.
    20. Chen, Ching-Fu & Lai, Wen-Tai, 2011. "The effects of rational and habitual factors on mode choice behaviors in a motorcycle-dependent region: Evidence from Taiwan," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 711-718, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:24:y:2012:i:c:p:48-59. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30473/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.