Many university campuses are suffering from serious mobility problems resulting from excessive use of the private car by students, teachers and administrative staff. This article proposes a methodology based on a revealed and stated preferences survey aimed at estimating the importance of different variables on users mobility choices in order to simulate their reaction to policies such as the introduction of new modes of transport or charging for on campus parking. This estimation was based on a Mixed Logit model considering the possible presence of heterogeneity in user preferences. The introduction of these results into an optimization model has also allowed us to calculate the optimal parking fare that should be charged which would minimize the number of free spaces on campus or maximize the income received. This methodology has been applied to a case study at the campus of the University of Cantabria (Spain). The elasticities calculated using a Mixed Logit model confirm that setting a fare for parking on campus would be a serious disincentive against private car use in favor of more sustainable transport modes. Furthermore, the optimization model allowed us to calculate the fare that would maximize the income obtained from the parking spaces, an income that could then be used to strengthen the campus sustainable mobility policies.
Nowadays, educational activities need to be oriented towards sustainable mobility as a tool to guarantee a better future for younger generations. Two focus groups (FGs) of children aged 10–12 years were formed, for the design, development, and evaluation of educational tools for gamification techniques on the subject of sustainable mobility. The study involved a group of children from three classes in the fifth-year of primary education at a school in the City of Burgos (Spain). The first focus group revealed the cognitive perceptions of the children toward sustainable mobility and their cognitive understanding of its need. The information was used in the design of learning activities of gamification techniques. The children in the second focus group, after the educational experience, were evaluated with regard to the knowledge they had acquired on the topic and changes in their attitudes. The basic knowledge of children before their participation in the research was limited to the environmental aspects of sustainable mobility, as we observed in the first focus group. Through the use of the gamification tools, the children acquired new concepts that clarified the importance of social and economic components linked to sustainable mobility, and they started to develop an awareness of how to play an active role in changing their behavior.
This article proposes a methodology for studying the quality of service perceived by users of a public bicycle scheme. The public is involved from the first phases of the research through their presence in focus groups to identify the relevant variables asked about in the survey. Ordered probit models have been calibrated that consider systematic variations in preference and random parameters. The results highlight the importance of safety and available information above other service variables, as well as the adjustment in perception of overall quality after considering each of the characteristics of the service, as it is proposed in this methodology.The excessive use of private cars is causing many urban areas to suffer from problems such as congestion and noise and air pollution, which are not only unsustainable and harmful to the environment, but also have a direct negative effect on the population's health. Further progress must be made toward new and more environmentally friendly urban mobility practices that will avoid the damage and inconvenience generated by existing traffic rates. In order to achieve this goal, a multimodal framework comprised of a wider range of alternative modes of transport is needed to help promote sustainable mobility: "Sustainable mobility has a central role to play in the future of sustainable cities, but it is only through the understanding and acceptance by the people that it will succeed" (Banister 2008, p. 80).The bicycle's specific competitive characteristics under certain journey conditions, coupled with its guarantee of sustainability, makes it the leading transport mode in the change toward new mobility patterns. One of the most widespread strategies for promoting this mode of transport in urban areas is the setting up of public bicycle-sharing schemes. Demand for this alternative form of public transport has grown in many cities, and it is essential to efficiently adapt these systems to the requirements of their users.This research provides further knowledge of traveler behavior and is specifically aimed at understanding how users perceive the quality of bicycle-sharing systems. The ordered scale defined to mark the quality of the overall service and its attributes suitably holds the assumptions of the proposed modeling framework: random ordered probit. The results of the model show the aspects that should be prioritized to generate the highest impact on user satisfaction and, thus, encourage use of the public bicycle service. Furthermore, the existence of heterogeneity has been addressed by allowing the parameters to distribute randomly across the population and by including the systematic variations in the perception of quality caused by different socioeconomic and trip circumstances. The trustworthiness of the models resides in the important role given to the users and potential users of the system, who have taken part from the initial experimental design and data collection phases.Section 2 reviews the international scientific literature addressing the bicycle as a m...
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