Common preferences of different user segments as basis for intelligent transport system: case study – Finland

Abstract

The ultimate purpose of the transport system is to serve the needs and expectations of the end users, who in turn shape the system by their own behaviour, actions and investments. This work examines, within the framework of the Large Technological Systems theory the possibility to categorise users of the transport system into homogeneous segments on the basis of their differences in daily mobility and transportation of goods. Furthermore, the potential to deepen this segmentation to describe the needs of, but later in the policy process also the social acceptance by, different user groups for new transport technology or policy, is examined.

Handling user needs: methods for knowledge creation in Swedish transport planning

“…Of the scholarly implications of our results, one is about the feasibility to develop new methods that ensure representativity. Those few transport studies to have developed new methods of adapting transport systems to users' wishes have contributed to developing explicit methods, for example user segmentation [10]. Our study demonstrates that the explicit methods are in all likelihood also influenced by experience-based knowledge.…”

“…This literature describes various methods and mechanisms for public participation in planning, and the general conclusion is that the role of the public must be strengthened [12,14]. However, with the exception of the likes of Tuominen et al [10], previous research has paid little attention to the manner in which official bodies operate and the methods they use to produce information about users. There is a difference in this context between what can be called a "citizen-democracy" perspective and the "customer-market" perspective analyzed in this study, which stems from the ways official bodies are expected to seek to identify and address the needs of their users.…”

Creating Prospective Value Chains for Renewable Road Transport Energy Sources up to 2050 in Nordic Countries

“…Individual people, actually the whole population, are the users of the passenger transport system. In freight transport, users are companies and organisations in the fields of industry, transport and commerce (Tuominen et al 2007). …”

“…Within the process, information about the system gathered by the producers is, or at least should be, transformed into policy measures, aiming to lead the transport system into a desired, sustainable future (e.g. Richardson, 2005, Steg et al 2005, Tuominen et al, 2007 …”

Participatory and prospective value network analysis: supporting transition towards biofuels in Finnish road transport

“…Different vehicle solutions make use of different fuels and other energy carriers, and they result in environmental impacts. Furthermore, the use of vehicles involves behavioural and business models, and different types of solutions are available concerning issues such as vehicle ownership (adapted from [20]). The illustration presents also the main elements of the energy system (primary energy sources, production and storage), which are linked to the transport system mainly through energy and transport infrastructures and are crucial for transport operations.…”