Personal and Contextual Factors Supporting the Switch to Transit Use: Evaluating a Natural Transit Intervention

Abstract

U.S. communities are becoming increasingly automobile dependent, with car use embedded in U.S. policies, practices, and preferences. To encourage transit use, transit systems too will require supporting policies, practices, and preferences. Light rail is currently enjoying some supportive policies, but research is just beginning to explore how psychological experiences might help support a switch to rail use.We propose a transactional approach to behavior change in which societal, physical environmental, and inter-and intrapersonal factors combine to support a new behavior. We illustrate this perspective at a university host site for the 2002 Olympics, where temporary parking shortages, the opening of a new light-rail transit line, and an outreach program enhanced the attractiveness of transit. Transit use was maintained by psychological satisfactions such as enjoyment of productive and pleasant activities during the ride, positive evaluations of the service qualities of light rail, and the view that light rail enhanced city livability. Results support the transactional approach and suggest directions for actions in transit promotion, environmentalism, and urban design.

Identifying beliefs underlying visitor behaviour: A comparative elicitation study based on the theory of planned behaviour

“…However, research by Brown, Werner, and Kim (2003), Corbett (2005), De Groot and Steg (2007), and Kaplan (2000) takes a different stance, suggesting that personal benefits have a better chance of encouraging people to use a public transport option, namely because beliefs related to the environment and altruistic outcomes are often synonymous with notions of self-sacrifice. While the results from the present study reveal that both types of beliefs underlie visitors' decisions to use or not use ATS, their persuasion potential can only be assessed through a follow-up belief measurement phase based on the TPB.…”

Linking modal choice to motility: A comprehensive review

“…People are stimulated to use their car (irrespective of whether it is quicker or not than public transport) when they are guaranteed of having a (free) parking space at work (Kenworthy and Laube, 1996;Kaufmann, 2002;Ye et al, 2007;Vasconcellos, 2005;O'Fallon et al, 2004). Brown et al (2003) conclude that lowering the parking lots will raise the use of transit in relation to car use. Although parking is found to have a significant influence on modal choice in more than half (55%) of the papers where it has been studied, the number of times it was investigated is rather low (only in 14% of all the papers reviewed).…”

“…Some studies report that women are more likely to use the car because of the higher proportion of household errands in combination with their home-work commutes which makes public transport less convenient (Brown et al, 2003). Other studies report that men are more likely to use the car while women are more dependent on public transport (Bhat, 1998;Limtanakool et al, 2006;O'Fallon et al, 2004;Schwanen et al, 2001).…”

“…Transit options often involve longer walking distances (Brown et al, 2003) and higher public transport travel times reduce the use of it (Vasconcellos, 2005). Travellers also seem to be more sensitive to out-of-vehicle travel time than in-vehicle travel time (Bhat, 1998).…”

Australian baby boomers switched to more environment friendly modes of transport during the global financial crisis

“…offering pleasant, seamless, and low-cost service). Research has shown that despite being forced to use PT services; and once begun, many people continued to do so, especially if they perceive few advantages to car use or more benefits to PT use, such as reliable service, access to new and interesting parts of the city, and productive and pleasant activities en route (Brown et al 2003).…”