SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION
This paper discusses possible contributions of psychologists to sustainable transportation. It is argued that in order to reach sustainable transportation, among others, behaviour changes of individual car users are needed. As transport policies will be more effective if they target important antece...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2007-01-01
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| Series: | IATSS Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0386111214602235 |
| _version_ | 1811239833337593856 |
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| author | Linda STEG |
| author_facet | Linda STEG |
| author_sort | Linda STEG |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper discusses possible contributions of psychologists to sustainable transportation. It is argued that in order to reach sustainable transportation, among others, behaviour changes of individual car users are needed. As transport policies will be more effective if they target important antecedents of travel behaviour, first, factors influencing such behaviour are discussed. It is argued that car use is very attractive and sometimes even necessary for many different reasons. This implies that a combination of policies is called for, each targeting different factors that support car use and hinder the use of more sustainable modes of transport. Next, the paper elaborates on policy strategies that may be employed to achieve sustainable transportation by changing car use. Increasing the attractiveness of sustainable transport modes by means of pull measures seems not sufficient to reduce the level of car use. Besides, car use should be made less attractive by means of push measures to force drivers to reconsider their travel behaviour. The acceptability of such policies may be increased by clearly communicating the aim of these policies, and the expected positive consequences (e.g., less congestion, improved environmental quality). Moreover, possible negative effects for individual freedom may be compensated by implementing additional policies aimed at facilitating the use of sustainable transport modes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:08:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6ba7e405874241b592b92df63e27d328 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0386-1112 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:08:05Z |
| publishDate | 2007-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IATSS Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-6ba7e405874241b592b92df63e27d3282022-12-22T03:31:56ZengElsevierIATSS Research0386-11122007-01-01312586610.1016/S0386-1112(14)60223-5SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATIONLinda STEGThis paper discusses possible contributions of psychologists to sustainable transportation. It is argued that in order to reach sustainable transportation, among others, behaviour changes of individual car users are needed. As transport policies will be more effective if they target important antecedents of travel behaviour, first, factors influencing such behaviour are discussed. It is argued that car use is very attractive and sometimes even necessary for many different reasons. This implies that a combination of policies is called for, each targeting different factors that support car use and hinder the use of more sustainable modes of transport. Next, the paper elaborates on policy strategies that may be employed to achieve sustainable transportation by changing car use. Increasing the attractiveness of sustainable transport modes by means of pull measures seems not sufficient to reduce the level of car use. Besides, car use should be made less attractive by means of push measures to force drivers to reconsider their travel behaviour. The acceptability of such policies may be increased by clearly communicating the aim of these policies, and the expected positive consequences (e.g., less congestion, improved environmental quality). Moreover, possible negative effects for individual freedom may be compensated by implementing additional policies aimed at facilitating the use of sustainable transport modes.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0386111214602235Sustainable transportationTravel behaviourCar usePsychologyMotivationsBehaviour change |
| spellingShingle | Linda STEG SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION IATSS Research Sustainable transportation Travel behaviour Car use Psychology Motivations Behaviour change |
| title | SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION |
| title_full | SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION |
| title_fullStr | SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION |
| title_full_unstemmed | SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION |
| title_short | SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION |
| title_sort | sustainable transportation |
| topic | Sustainable transportation Travel behaviour Car use Psychology Motivations Behaviour change |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0386111214602235 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lindasteg sustainabletransportation |