Understanding How Individuals Make Travel and Location Decisions: Implications for Public Transportation (2008)

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130 The primary objectives of this research were twofold— namely, to understand how people make travel and location decisions and to derive practical implications and policy guidance for encouraging more use of public transportation and walking. An underlying assumption is that growing urban congestion and impaired mobility can be mitigated by encouraging people to substitute public transportation and walking for individual automobile use. A practical challenge, is, of course, how to promote this kind of behavior in enough instances to have a measurable, beneficial effect on travel con- ditions. The premise of this research is that by gaining a bet- ter understanding of the links between individuals’ attitudes, intentions, and behaviors with regard to travel alternatives to the automobile, strategies can be better configured and targeted to help achieve the desired outcomes. Some Research Limitations When considering the practical or policy implications from this research, it is important to keep in mind some inherent limitations of the research design. The use of an Internet panel brings some bias to the sample, as respondents are those with access to the Internet who are willing to respond to such sur- veys. The sample was limited to larger metropolitan areas with good transit. Age-groups of interest were oversampled, and respondents were limited to those who had recently moved or were contemplating moving. Indeed, this research was not intended to give results that could be projected quantitatively to a larger population. Its purpose was to increase under- standing of the motivations of certain individuals who are of major interest to policymakers trying to promote smart growth and environmentally friendly travel modes. Future research will be needed to determine the overall incidence rate of market segments described in this study. Another limitation relates to the specification of the mod- els of relationships tested in the study. Using the TPB, prior research, and findings from focus group discussions as a guide, this study identified a set of independent variables that are used to explain differences or variation in ATT, SN, and SCF, as well as intent. Although the regressions show signifi- cant results, as is often the case with individual attitudinal data sets, they typically explain relatively small percentages of the total variation in the ATT, SN, and SCF. This means that it is possible that other important factors have been left out of these models. Hence, the practical implications that can be derived are thereby somewhat limited or tentative. The study acknowledges the need for additional research to help further our understanding of these effects. Notwithstanding these limitations, however, the research design provides an appro- priate way to infer practical implications for how to frame and deliver strategies for encouraging the desired outcome behaviors that have been explored in this study. Implications from Phase 1 Research The first phase of the research used focus groups and sur- vey research to better understand individual attitudes and values as they relate to the stated intent to move to a CN. The focus was primarily on understanding factors that affect the choice of residential neighborhood, but also on factors asso- ciated with greater use of walking and transit. The research assessed attributes of a CN that either attract or repel indi- viduals. It defined several market segments in terms of their attitudes towards urban living and a lifestyle that emphasizes more use of transit and walking. The research also examined the association between individual values, urban form, and auto availability with mode share for transit and walking. While a number of factors were shown to be related to a desire or willingness to move to a CN, it is clear that many other factors unmeasured in this research model will be relevant, and additional research will be needed to identify these. C H A P T E R 1 3 Practical Implications of the Research

Although this research was experimental in nature, there are some findings that provide practical advice to practition- ers in the transit field. Practical Implications from the Phase 1 Research Findings from Phase 1 that have practical implications include the following: • Some features of a CN were of greater importance to this sample of respondents than other features. The most im- portant belief was that it would be easier to get to stores, restaurants, libraries, and other activities if one were living in a CN. Developers of compact neighborhoods should ensure that they are located near interesting destinations, such as stores, restaurants, and other activity centers. • Making new friends with close neighbors emerged as an important factor influencing the decision to move to a CN, along with needing fewer cars and having public trans- portation readily available for the places you want to go. Marketing campaigns intended to promote the values of liv- ing in CNs should emphasize these kinds of attributes and benefits. • Individuals who believed that such a residential move would result in more street noise or less living space had a more negative attitude toward the move. Practical efforts to promote living in compact neighborhoods would need to try to counter these perceived negative attributes and emphasize the positive attributes. • Individuals are more likely to feel they could move to a CN if they could find affordable housing. This was the most important perceived barrier to such a move, over others that included having to get by with fewer cars, having less living space, or losing touch with current friends. Public policy that seeks to ensure the availability of affordable hous- ing in CNs would be indicated by this finding. • Respondents who expressed a more positive attitude toward living in a CN are the best initial candidates for promotional efforts. It would make most sense to approach those with the highest probability of receptiveness to cam- paigns to encourage transit use, walking, and living in CN. For example, those who say that owning fewer cars is a good thing would fall into this positive group, as would those who value a clean environment. • If family and friends are supportive or encouraging of a move to a CN and communicate that riding transit and walking reflect appropriate values, then an individual is more likely to be motivated to do those things. Promotional efforts could be directed toward families, rather than just to- ward individuals, to help build a foundation of support for the value of living in CNs and using public transportation. In the longer term, seeking to influence community normative values with respect to these behaviors could have positive effects on an even larger segment of the population. • From a practical policy standpoint, perhaps the biggest impediment to marketing CN living and use of transit is the pervasive reluctance to give up personal automobiles. This research showed that the average number of auto- mobiles per person in a household is more predictive of the propensity to walk and use transit than the type of residential neighborhood or set of urban/environmental values held by the individual. Policies such as reducing the zoning requirement for parking in CNs, providing mortgages that recognize savings from reduced car use or ownership, and employer incentive programs for transit use and ride- sharing could help in this regard. Policy to create new infra- structure to facilitate walking and transit will be more successful if it is coupled with efforts to support and encour- age values associated with those outcomes. • Prior research on the propensity to change modes sug- gests that people are creatures of habit. Individuals who have never used public transportation or who use it rarely tend not to consider public transportation as a viable alternative for meeting their transportation needs. The times when these individuals are most likely to consider such a change in transportation mode is when they are making life-cycle changes, such as a change in residence or a change in employment. Thus, practical strategies that seek to induce a mode change should recognize that individ- uals may be more receptive during these periods of change in their lives. Implications from Phase 2 Research The second phase of this research project used another Internet panel survey to further explore the determinants of mode choice and how selected intervention measures could encourage more transit use and walking behaviors. The focus in this phase was primarily on understanding factors that affect the choice of mode of travel. Respondents were asked to imagine living in a CN and were then asked to respond to various transportation options. Phase 2 also explored how the respondents’ attitudes and intent to change behaviors were affected both by the availability of a set of services supportive of using public transportation and by several different marketing messages designed to encourage transit use and walking behaviors. Practical Implications from the Phase 2 Research Findings from Phase 2 that have practical implications include the following: 131

• Although most respondents (70%) indicated that transit service was within walking distance, normative support for increased walking and use of public transit was low. These individuals said they wanted reliable transportation at low cost, and they didn’t want to spend any additional time commuting, nor did they want to be dependent on some- one else for their transportation. They believed that transit would not only take more time, but also give them less con- trol over the timeliness of their arrival. They also expressed a need to use a car for short or spur-of-the-moment trips or to carry heavy things. These attitudes present a challenge for policymakers seeking to encourage more transit ridership. Replacing the car will take a suite of services to meet require- ments for both speed and flexibility. • When respondents were asked to consider traditional mar- keting messages and a suite of transit-supportive services (including good downtown transit service, regional transit service, smart cards, shuttle service, smart phone, and car sharing), their beliefs about transit changed. However the changes were apparently due to the suite of services and not to the marketing messages. The practical implication is that it will be difficult to significantly change beliefs about riding transit with public policy messages alone. More emphasis will need to be placed on supplementing messages with a suite of services that enhance the overall transit-riding experience. • Being able to depend on transit to “get me to my destina- tion in a timely way” was a key driver of attitude. Providing information to customers on transit schedules and improving the reliability of the service appear to be key strategies. • Although those respondents who were concerned about reducing pollution and improving health had a more positive attitude toward walking and taking transit, respondents were not convinced that the suite of transit supportive services would reduce pollution and improve health. A message about the positive health and environ- mental impacts of transit use also was not convincing. There is a need to more convincingly communicate the positive health and environmental effects of walking and transit. • Respondents’ attitudes toward transit riding and walking are the most critical drivers of intentions to increase use of these modes, but their self-confidence in using transit and walking and their perception of others’ opinions also affected their intentions. In this research, respondents’ attitudes did not change despite the messages and transit- supportive services. But their self-confidence that they could take transit increased when additional transit- supportive services were considered. They also believed that their families would be more supportive of their tak- ing transit and walking more. This would suggest that a practical policy approach would be to seek to provide and market a set of ancillary services intended to make transit rid- ing more simple and attractive (a higher status activity) for those who otherwise are inherently reluctant to use transit. • Respondents’ concerns about being stranded when using transit appeared to be the most critical driver of their self- confidence in being able to take transit, as well as in the approval of friends and family. This was especially true of the environmentally oriented market segment, which was willing to change modes if the conditions associated with transit riding were improved. The practical policy implica- tion is to focus on providing this group, in particular, with ancillary services that can help them overcome these kinds of concerns. If the transit system is believed to be safer and more attractive, family and friends are likely to feel more positive about transit, which will further motivate the members of this group to translate their expressed intent into actual transit- riding behavior. • Prior research has shown that an impediment to using public transportation is that the behavior is unfamiliar to many people and hence is not actively considered as an option. This research verified the importance of respon- dents’ self-confidence in using public transportation. Many communities and employers offer incentives for people to try out transit, including free passes and employee dis- counts on transit and charges for parking personal cars at work, especially single-occupant vehicles. These actions will help transit to become more familiar and will increase users’ self-confidence in taking it. Summary of Practical Implications Figure 13-1 highlights some of the practical strategies that may be undertaken in an effort to promote living in CNs and to encourage more transit use and walking, as suggested by the research findings from this study. Practical implications of this research all derive from three component strategies that involve encouraging individuals to move to a CN and en- couraging them to increase their use of transit and walking instead of driving. These component strategies are as follows: • Encourage policies that lead to the creation of an urban form that is highly conducive to transit use and walking. Attributes of CNs include ease of walking to stores, restau- rants, and other activities; easy access to public transporta- tion; ability to have fewer automobiles in the household; and opportunity to interact with neighbors. Work through employers and community policymakers to provide incen- tives for transit use. • Provide a set of services that complement and support using public transportation, particularly for the market segments with the most potential to increase transit use. These include providing real-time information about 132

transit arrival/departure times, as well as other services that make people feel safer and more confident about using transit. • Educate and market the use of public transportation to the public, focusing first on segments of the population that are known to be more receptive. Focus marketing and policies on increasing the status of transit and making it simpler to use. There are many challenges to accomplishing the desirable practical outcomes discussed in the Summary of this report. It is also clear that additional research will be needed to more fully understand the factors that link attitudes and values with the outcome behaviors. The positive market sectors identified in this research represented 30% to 45% of the sample, and the practical strategies noted above should target these seg- ments first. The promotional messages directed to these indi- viduals will need to be tailored to their needs and matched with their attitudes and values. No one approach is, however, likely to be highly successful on its own; rather, a variety of approaches must be applied simultaneously, including creat- ing a conducive urban form, providing supportive public services, and coordinating the services with targeted market- ing and promotion. In addition, a suite of incentives and disincentives should be added, resulting in structural, social, and economic forces that may be expected to have a reason- able chance of changing human behavior in ways favorable to use of public transportation and walking. 133 housing in a CN and A ugment transit support strategies (e.g., fare cards and real - time information) w ith education to show how the strategies impro ve outcomes Focus marketing on indiv idual life change ev ents Seek to create high status image for public transportation Target marketing to show how easy tran sit is to use Target most receptiv e market segments wi th a suite of transit serv ices and marketing messages tailored to their need s Ensure affordable housing in a and easy access to transit Ensure that stores, restaurants and other activities are in walking distance to CNs. - Conducive Urban Form and Related Policies Supportive Services Marketing & Promotion Strategies to Encourage a Move to a CN and Increased Transit Use and Walking Work through public polic y and employers to offer incentiv es to increase transit an d wa lk in g Figure 13-1. Practical policy approaches.