Attitude toward physical activity as a determinant of bus use intention: A case study in Asuke,Japan

This study examines the effect of people's attitudes toward physical activity on their bus use intentions in rural areas in Japan. We utilized the theory of planned behavior and designated three variables—attitude toward bus use, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control—as mediators for the hypothesized effect. Analysis results showed that attitude toward physical activity had a significant effect on bus use intention. For transport policy, this implies that improving attitudes toward physical activity can increase bus use and reduce physical inactivity, partly caused by car dependence. Results from a multiple-group analysis, for the hypothesized model, revealed that this finding is particularly valid for young people, car drivers, and people living within five minutes of the nearest bus stop. Finally, the effect of attitude toward physical activity on bus use intention is higher with the presence of mediators; these mediators help to increase the model's predictability for the variance of bus use intention from 8.6% to 64.4%.