The present study examines a Mobility Management measure called “test traveller project”, which aims at increasing the public transport modal share by offering free public transport tickets to those who often use their car for their daily commuting and trips. The existing literature consists of a rather limited number of cases and their scope is usually limited because only some of the main elements that influence one’s travel behaviour are considered in each study. Furthermore, literature is not unanimous in concluding that this measure can reduce car use. This work studies more than 50 cases in Sweden, and by employing the Theory of Planned Behaviour the effects of test traveller projects have been examined in an empirical case in the Swedish municipality of Botkyrka, located in the Stockholm metropolitan area. The findings underline that a test traveller project, despite its limitations, may be a valid and relatively simple tool available to public bodies and public transport companies for enticing a segment of car drivers to switch to public transport where it is a valid alternative. In fact, according to the literature, the major results achievable are around 20% of new public transport users among test travellers, whereas in Sweden 20% has been achieved by the first upper quartile of the projects. In particular, the effectiveness of a test traveller project is greater when combined or conducted in parallel with other measures such as improvements in the public transport offer and/or changes in the transport system aiming at disadvantaging car use. The case study of Botkyrka has confirmed that attitudes are the major influencing factor when making the transport mode choice. Further, it has confirmed that environmental concerns and the time passed from one’s residential relocation also play an important role. Habits seem to be less important, thus adhering to that literature whose authors argue that an external event (such as moving home) makes people reflect upon and rethink their travel habits. The case study in Botkyrka has empirically demonstrated how the project participants correct their beliefs and perceptions about public transport, sometimes in a positive way and sometimes in a negative way. An interesting finding is the existence of a new category of people living in the suburbs. Literature indicates that, in the same suburban context, individuals with suburban land use preferences tend to use the car more that individuals with urban land use preferences. In the case study of Botkyrka clearly emerged as a majority among the test traveller project participants a category of individuals who have a suburban land use preference but at the same time would like to use public transportation instead of their car and have high environmental concerns.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:kth-233370 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Freddo, Maurizio |
| Publisher | KTH, Systemanalys och ekonomi |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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