The effect of attitudes on reference-dependent preferences: Estimation and validation for the case of alternative-fuel vehicles

Several recent studies in transportation have analysed how choices made by individuals are influenced by attitudes. Other studies have contributed to our understanding of apparently non-rational behaviour by examining how choices may reflect reference-dependent preferences. This paper examines how reference-dependent preferences and attitudes together may explain individual choices. In a modelling framework based on a hybrid choice model allowing for both concepts, we investigate how attitudes and reference-dependent preferences interact and how they affect willingness-to-pay measures and demand elasticities. Using a data set with stated choices among alternative-fuel vehicles, we see that allowing for reference-dependent preferences improves our ability to explain the stated choices in the data and that the attitude (appreciation of car features) explains part of the preference heterogeneity across individuals. The results indicate that individuals have reference-dependent preferences that could be explained by loss aversion and that these are indeed related to an individual’s attitude towards car features. The models are validated using a large hold-out sample. This shows that the inclusion of attitudes improves the models’ ability to explain behaviour in the hold-out sample. While neither reference-dependent preferences nor the attitude affect the average willingness-to-pay measures in our sample, their effect on choice behaviour has implications for policy recommendations as segments with varying attitudes and reference values will act differently when affected by policy instruments related to the demand for alternative-fuel vehicles, e.g. subsidies.     

The influence of personality on acceptability of sustainable transport policies

Previous research has shown that fairness, infringement on freedom, and perceived effectiveness are determinants of transport pricing acceptability. In the present study we investigate determinants of acceptability of environmental (carbon) taxation for which trust in government and environmental concern are additional determinants. Carbon taxation is an extension of fuel taxes and may thus be viewed as transport pricing. Our main focus is on the role played by personality traits. Structural equation modeling reveals that acceptability is related to the personality traits extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Extraverted individuals have higher levels of trust in government which leads to higher acceptability. Also correlations between agreeableness and conscientiousness as well as environmental problem awareness and personal norm are observed. We discuss strategies for effective marketing of transportation policies considering how acceptability is related to personality traits.     

Modeling travel behavior by the structural relationships between lifestyle,built environment and non-working trips

In the context of sustainable urban transport in developing countries, individuals’ travel behavior faces multiple factors which influence their mobility patterns. Recognizing these factors could be a favorable method to organize more regular and sustainable trip patterns. This study aims to identify the less well-known lifestyle along with more popular built environment as the main factors which shape travel behaviors. Employing data from 900 respondents of 22 urban areas in city of Shiraz, Iran, this paper explores travel behaviors as non-working trip frequencies by different modes. Results of structural equation model indicate a strong significant effect of individual’s lifestyle patterns on their non-working trips. However, built environment impact on travel behavior is small compared to lifestyle. Besides, other variables such as travel attitudes and socio-economic factors stay crucial in the mode choice selection. These findings indicate the necessity of regarding lifestyle orientations in travel studies as well as objective factors such as land use attributes.     

The effects of activity-travel context and individual attitudes on car-sharing decisions under travel time uncertainty: A hybrid choice modeling approach

People’s daily decision to use car-sharing rather than other transport modes for conducting a specific activity has been investigated recently in assessing the market potential of car-sharing systems. Most studies have estimated transport mode choice models with an extended choice set using attributes such as average travel time and costs. However, car-sharing systems have some distinctive features: users have to reserve a car in advance and pay time-based costs for using the car. Therefore, the effects of activity-travel context and travel time uncertainty require further consideration in models that predict car-sharing demand. Moreover, the relationships between individual latent attitudes and the intention to use car-sharing have not yet been investigated in much detail. In contributing to the research on car-sharing, the present study is designed to examine the effects of activity-travel context and individual latent attitudes on short-term car-sharing decisions under travel time uncertainty. The effects of all these factors were simultaneously estimated using a hybrid choice modeling framework. The data used in this study was collected in the Netherlands, 2015 using a stated choice experiment. Hypothetical choice situations were designed to collect respondents’ intention to use a shared-car for their travel to work. A total of 791 respondents completed the experiment. The estimation results suggest that time constraints, lack of spontaneity and a larger variation in travel times have significant negative effects on people’s intention to use a shared-car. Furthermore, this intention is significantly associated with latent attitudes about pro-environmental preferences, the symbolic value of cars, and privacy-seeking.     

Preferences of travellers for using automated vehicles as last mile public transport of multimodal train trips

In the recent years many developments took place regarding automated vehicles (AVs) technology. It is however unknown to which extent the share of the existing transport modes will change as result of AVs introduction as another public transport option. This study is the first where detailed traveller preferences for AVs are explored and compared to existing modes. Its main objective is to position AVs in the transportation market and understand the sensitivity of travellers towards some of their attributes, focusing particularly on the use of these vehicles as egress mode of train trips. Because fully-automated vehicles are not yet a reality and they entail a potentially high disruptive way on how we use automobiles today, we apply a stated preference experiment where the role of attitudes in perceiving the utility of AVs is particularly explored in addition to the classical instrumental variables and several socio-economic variables. The estimated discrete choice model shows that first class train travellers on average prefer the use of AVs as egress mode, compared to the use of bicycle or bus/tram/metro as egress. We therefore conclude that AVs as last mile transport between the train station and the final destination have most potential for first class train travellers. Results show that in-vehicle time in AVs is experienced more negatively than in-vehicle time in manually driven cars. This suggests that travellers do not perceive the theoretical advantage of being able to perform other tasks during the trip in an automated vehicle, at least not yet. Results also show that travellers’ attitudes regarding trust and sustainability of AVs are playing an important role in AVs attractiveness, which leads to uncertainty on how people will react when AVs are introduced in practice. We therefore state the importance of paying sufficient attention to these psychological factors, next to classic instrumental attributes like travel time and costs, before and during the implementation process of AVs as a public transport alternative. We recommend the extension of this research to revealed preference studies, thereby using the results of field studies.     

From willingness to action: Do push-pull-mooring factors matter for shifting to green transportation?

Motivating individuals to choose green transportation is becoming increasingly important. Based on push-pull-mooring framework, this study aims to explore how push, pull and mooring factors foster individual’s willingness to shift to green transportation. This study also analyzes the role of information provision in narrowing the gap between shifting willingness and behavior. The findings revealed that push factors, including perceived environmental threats and perceived inconvenience, drive individual’s mode-shift away from private cars, whereas the pull factors, including green transport policies and campaigns, and green transport system attract individual’s mode-shift to green transportation. Moreover, the mooring factor, namely inertia, not only negatively affects individual’s shifting willingness but also negatively moderates the effects of push and pull factors on individual’s shifting willingness. In addition, shifting willingness positively affects the shifting behavior and the information provision positively moderates the relationship among them. Such findings are vital to achieve the realization of China’s low-carbon goals.     

Travel mode choices in small cities of China: A case study of Changting

The existing literature on urban transportation planning in China focuses primarily on large cities and neglects small cities. This paper aims to fill part of the knowledge gap by examining travel mode choice in Changting, a small city that has been experiencing fast spatial expansion and growing transportation problems. Using survey data collected from 1470 respondents on weekdays and weekends, the study investigates the relationship between mode choice and individuals’ socio-economic characteristics, trip characteristics, attitudes, and home and workplace built environments. While more than 35 percent of survey respondents are car owners, walk, bicycle, e-bike, and motorcycle still account for over 85 percent of trips made during peak hours. E-bike and motorcycle are the dominant means of travel on weekdays, but many people shift to walking and cycling on weekends, making non-motorized and semi-motorized travel especially important for non-commuting trips. Results of multinomial logistic regression show that: (1) job-housing balance might exert different effects on mode choice in different types of urban areas; (2) negative attitude towards e-bike and motorcycle is associated with more walking and cycling; and (3) land use diversity of workplace is related to commuting mode choice on weekdays, while land use diversities of both residential and activity places do not significantly affect mode choice on weekends. Our findings imply that planning and design for small cities needs to differentiate land use and transportation strategies in various types of areas, and to launch outreach programs to shift people’s mode choice from motorized travel to walking and cycling.     

Understanding transport mode choice for commuting: the role of affect

This study examines the relationship between positive and negative user valence and transport mode choice behaviour. We integrate latent attitudes ‘affect’ and ‘salience’ into transport mode choice models using the framework of integrated choice and latent variable modelling and simultaneous maximum likelihood estimation methods. The results are consistent with findings in similar travel behaviour and behavioural economics literature. The study extends the findings of previous research and has demonstrated that user sentiments about public transport mode and salient public transport experiences have a significant impact on travel mode choice behaviour. It was found that private motorised users are more sensitive to overcrowding and anti-social behaviours on PT than active and PT travellers. Key attitudinal indicators influencing individual transport choice behaviour are established to guide public policy. The key indicators of Affect and Salience must be analysed and addressed through public policy to enhance PT user experience and develop services and facilities to increase the utility of PT in-vehicle travel time.     

Joint analysis of the spatial impacts of built environment on car ownership and travel mode choice

Concerns over transportation energy consumption and emissions have prompted more studies into the impacts of built environment on driving-related behavior, especially on car ownership and travel mode choice. This study contributes to examine the impacts of the built environment on commuter’s driving behavior at both spatial zone and individual levels. The aim of this study is threefold. First, a multilevel integrated multinomial logit (MNL) and structural equation model (SEM) approach was employed to jointly explore the impacts of the built environment on car ownership and travel mode choice. Second, the spatial context in which individuals make the travel decisions was accommodated, and spatial heterogeneities of car ownership and travel mode choice across traffic analysis zones (TAZs) were recognized. Third, the indirect effects of the built environment on travel mode choice through the mediating variable car ownership were calculated, in other words, the intermediary nature of car ownership was considered. Using the Washington metropolitan area as the study case, the built environment measures were calculated for each TAZ, and the commuting trips were drawn from the household travel survey in this area. To estimate the model parameters, the robust maximum likelihood (MLR) method was used. Meanwhile, a comparison among different model structures was conducted. The model results suggest that application of the multilevel integrated MNL and SEM approach obtains significant improvements over other models. This study give transportation planners a better understanding on how the built environment influences car ownership and commuting mode choice, and consequently develop effective and targeted countermeasures.     

Prospect Theory for joint time and money consequences in risk and ambiguity

Transport users face complex decisions. Not only are the consequences of their choices uncertain, but they generally involve several attributes, such as time and money. Time-money tradeoffs have been studied in depth in transport economics, and research is now paying increasing attention to the role of uncertainty and information in transport decisions. This paper aims to measure the impact of uncertainty and information on multi-attribute decisions using Prospect Theory. In doing so, the study makes two contributions to transportation literature: one methodological and the other empirical. First, we propose a fast and tractable method for measuring Prospect Theory parameters that capture attitudes towards probabilities (probability weighting function) and attitudes towards losses (loss aversion). The elicitation method does not require the elicitation of the utility function. This makes it particularly suitable in complex multi-attribute decisions where the shape of the utility function is unknown. Second, we present the results of an experiment that uses the proposed method to measure, at the individual level, probability weighting in decisions involving joint time and money consequences in two decision contexts: risk (where probabilities are given) and ambiguity (where the probability distribution is unknown). An experimental setup that exposes subjects to real gains and losses for money and time has been built for this purpose. We observe inverse S-shaped probability weighting and loss aversion for risk. Probability weighting is even more pronounced in ambiguity, where subjects do not have precise information about the probability distribution. We explain how these results and the analysis of ambiguity attitudes in general can offer a better understanding of travelers’ route or transport mode choices.     

An integrated assessment of factors affecting modal choice: towards a better understanding of the causal effects of built environment

This paper discusses the methodological challenges in understanding causal relationships between urban form and travel behavior and uses a holistic quasi-experimental approach to investigate the separable marginal influence of each of several urban form factors on mode choice as well as the complex relationships between those factors and a wide range of personal traits. Data analysis and models are used to reveal the effect of such interactions on mode choice for both work and non-work trips in Rome, Italy. It is found that population density does not have a significant marginal positive effect on sustainable mode choice for work trips. Conversely, this factor decreases sustainable mode choice for non-work trips. Small scale street design quality alone increases sustainable mode choice for non-work trips. This is while presence of street network integration alone increases automobile use for all trip purposes. The results point to the importance of incorporating all the urban form factors of diversity, design and street network integration if the goal is to increase the use of more sustainable modes of transportation for both work and non-work trips, but also show that attitudes and preferences can modify the response to urban design factors. The findings suggest that thoughtful policies triggering certain attitudes (cost sensitivity, sensitivity to peer pressure regarding the value attributed to sustainable transportation, and transit preference) can be adopted to significantly increase sustainable mode choice even in the neighborhoods with specific physical restrictions.     

The impact of outcome framing and psychological distance of air pollution consequences on transportation mode choice

Recent years, air pollution phenomenon has become one of the crucial problems of Tehran, Iran. Due to main political and economic role of Tehran, population of this metropolis is high and increasing. Urban transportation of this highly populated city contributes more than 70% of air pollution problem in this city. Although a number of urban transport developments, policy measures and regulations have been employed, Tehran’s air pollution has remained crucial thus far. Finding ways to encourage individuals to behave more sustainable can be considered as a substantial approach of tackling environmental problems such as air pollution, since it can be highly cost-effective and fast. This research attempt to evaluate the impacts of two factors of outcome framing and psychological distance of air pollution on citizen’s willingness to behave environmental friendly, particularly to change the travel mode choice. Results illustrate that communicating the consequences of air pollution can provoke individuals’ to act more environment friendly or in particular to change their intention for using more sustainable mode of transportation. Framing the positive consequences of mitigating air pollution take precedence over framing the negative consequences. Moreover the gains of mitigating air pollution have an impact on the willingness to use of bicycle and bus. Results also show that decreasing the psychological distance of air pollution in order to make manipulated frame more personally relevant has no significant impact on respondents.     

Values,attitudes and travel behavior: a hierarchical latent variable mixed logit model of travel mode choice

Values lie at the heart of an individual’s belief system, serving as prototypes from which attitudes and behaviors are subsequently manufactured. Attitudes and behaviors may evolve over time, but values represent a set of more enduring beliefs. This study examines the influence of values on travel mode choice behavior. It is argued that personal values influence individual attitudes towards different alternative attributes, which in turn impact modal choices. Using data from a sample of 519 German commuters drawn from a consumer panel, the study estimates an integrated choice and latent variable model of travel mode choice that allows for hierarchical relationships between the latent variables and flexible substitution patterns across the modal alternatives. Results from the empirical application support the value-attitude-behavior hierarchical model of cognition, and provide insights to planners and policy-makers on how better to sell public transit as a means of travel.     

Medical-purposed travel behaviors in rural areas in developing countries: a case study in rural Cambodia

This study aimed at identifying influencing factors in an individual’s choice of health service facility and transportation mode to the facility, using two datasets: one collected through face-to-face interviews held between February and March 2016, containing responses from 258 local residents, and the other collected from 45 residents in the follow-up survey in December 2016. The study area was located in rural Cambodia, where road conditions were recently improved and a health sector policy was implemented to assist poor people in accessing to health services. An empirical analysis was carried out using nested logit models, consisting of two choices of three travel modes (private, shared, or walking) and two types of public health service facilities (health center or referral hospital). The results revealed the following: (1) individuals in households with motorcycles tend to visit health service facilities using private travel modes, whereas individuals in households without their own transportation tend to visit health service facilities using shared travel modes or on foot, and (2) travel distance between individuals’ houses and the selected facilities likely discourages people from visiting referral hospitals, where a variety of health services are available, but does not affect the choice of health centers, offering limited health services while being located closer to residential areas. These findings suggested the need to equip health centers with more functions as health service providers and to operationalize public transportation services for those who cannot afford to visit referral hospitals, which would enable people to receive necessary health services more conveniently.

     

Understanding repetitive travel mode choices in a stable context: A panel study approach

It is argued that most travel mode choices are repetitive and made in a stable context. As an example, the everyday use of public transport is analyzed based on a panel survey with a random sample of about 1300 Danish residents interviewed up to three times in the period 1998–2000. The use of public transport is traced back to attitudes towards doing so, beliefs about whether or not public transportation can cover one’s transport needs, and car ownership. The influence of these variables is greatly attenuated when past behavior is accounted for, however. For subjects without a car, behavior changes are in the direction of greater consistency with current attitudes and perceptions. For car owners, current attitudes are inconsequential. The temporal stability of transport behavior is also higher for car-owners than for non-owners.     

Capturing tour mode and activity choice interdependencies: A co-evolutionary logit modelling approach

It is generally assumed that the choice of transport mode and the choice of including intermediate activities on a work tour are interrelated, but little is known about the nature of the causal relationship. To shed light on this, this paper addresses the question of whether transport mode choice is dependent on the activity choice or vice-versa. A new methodology, referred to as the co-evolutionary approach, is combined with a set of MNL models, one for each choice facet involved, to derive an indication of the order of decisions on an individual level. The models are estimated based on the work tours of a large sample of individuals in the Netherlands. The results suggest that there is substantial variation in the order of the transport mode and activity decisions. However, in the majority of cases the activity decision is made before the mode decision, suggesting that the transport mode and, in particular, the choice between car and public transport is most often ‘adjusted’ to the choice of trip chaining rather than the other way round.     

Collecting a multi-dimensional three-weeks household time-use and activity diary in the Bandung Metropolitan Area,Indonesia

This paper describes a comprehensive panel data collection and analysis at household level, including detailed travel behaviour variables and comprehensive in-home and out-of-home activities, individual cognitive habits and affective behaviours, the rate of physical activity, as well as health related quality of life (QoL) information in the Bandung Metropolitan Area (BMA) of Indonesia. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to collect an individual’s activity diary over an extended period as it captures the multi-tasking activities and multidisciplinary factors that underlie individual activity-travel patterns in a developing country. Preliminary analyses of the collected data indicate that different beliefs, anticipated emotions, support and attachment to motorised modes significantly correlate with different groups of occupation, gender, age, activity participation, multi-tasking activities, and physical health, but not with different social and mental health. This finding highlights the reason why implementing car reduction policies in Indonesia, without breaking or changing the individual’s habits and influencing his/her attitudes have not been fruitful. The results also show that endorsing more physical activities may result in a significant reduction in the individual’s motorised mode use, whilst individuals who demonstrate a tendency to use their spare time on social activities tend to have better social health conditions. Furthermore, undertaking multi-tasking out-of-home discretionary activities positively correlates with better physical health. All these highlight the importance of properly understanding and analysing the complex mechanisms that underlie these fundamental factors that shape individual daily activity-travel patterns in developing countries. This type of multidisciplinary approach is needed to design better transport policies that will not only promote better transport conditions, but also a healthier society with a better quality of life.     

Determining the Monetary Value of Quality Attributes in Freight Transportation Using a Stated Preference Approach

It is commonly accepted that the modal choice of a shipper is influenced not only by the pure economic attributes of transportation – time and cost – but also by more qualitative factors. These quality attributes relate to frequency, reliability, flexibility, transport duration and risk of loss or damage; they are usually difficult to quantify in monetary terms. Different techniques exist that help to understand better how these different quality attributes of freight transportation influence modal choice. In this paper we apply a stated preference design. Using real business data, the aim is then to derive partial utility functions that allow us to calculate monetary values for these different quality attributes.     

Effect of environmental awareness on electric bicycle users’ mode choices

Travellers’ environmental awareness can affect their mode choices. The primary objective of this study is to identify the effect of electric bicycle (e-bike) users’ environmental awareness on their mode choice when the use of e-bikes is prohibited in urban areas in China. The data were collected via a questionnaire survey administered at ten locations in Nanjing, China. Using mixed multinomial logit (MMNL) models, we examined the relationship between the e-bike users’ mode choice and their environmental awareness, combined with socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and trip attributes. The results show that the level of environmental awareness, gender, age, education, income, the ownership of car and conventional bike, and trip distance affect e-bike users’ choices significantly. Those with a high level of environmental awareness are more likely to choose zero-emission transport modes. A stratified analysis reveals that the effect of environmental awareness is associated with their original transport mode choice prior to their use of the e-bike. With a high level of environmental awareness, original car users tend to opt for moderate- or zero-emission modes; original bus and metro users incline to choose a zero-emission mode or their original mode; and few original cyclists and walkers favour moderate- or high-emission modes. The results of the current study provide transport authorities with insights to establish sustainable urban transportation management policies and strategies to increase the share of zero- and low-emission transport modes.     

About attitudes and perceptions: finding the proper way to consider latent variables in discrete choice models

We provide an in-depth theoretical discussion about the differences between individual-specific latent constructs (representing attitudes, for example, but also other characteristics such as values or personality traits) and alternative-specific latent constructs (that may represent perceptions) affecting the choice-making process of individuals; we also carry out an empirical exercise to analyze their effects. This discussion is of importance, as the majority of papers considering attitudinal latent variables just take these as attributes affecting directly the utility of a certain alternative, while systematic taste variations are rarely considered and perceptions are mostly ignored. The results of our case study show that perceptions may indeed affect the decision making process and that they are able to capture a significant part of the variability that is normally explained by alternative specific constants. Furthermore, our results indicate that attitudes may be a reason for systematic taste variations, and that a proper categorization of latent variables, in accordance with underlying theory, may outperform the customary assumption of linearity.