Abstract

This quantitative study investigates on how the attitudes amongst people in Tampa are towards the use of public transportation and also analyse which factors they consider vital for its development. The data is collected with the help of an online questionnaire and later compared with the current comprehensive plan and transportation plan in Tampa, after a qualitative literature review, in order to analyse and compare if there are any differences between the respondents and the planners. In other word’s compare theory to what is happening in reality. The results show that both the planners and the respondents acknowledge the dominance and negative effects of car use and that an expansion of public transportation is necessary in order to enhance the overall quality of life but also sustainability. The biggest difference was the attitude toward and belief in Mobility Management and soft measures. As the plan documents do not put any emphasis on the importance of changing attitudes with the help of soft measures, the respondents showed that Mobility Management and services linked to it could be a vital factor to change overall attitude towards public transportation if it were implemented. 

Abstract

Cycling is considered an environmentally-friendly mode of transport that offers many personal benefits including health, affordability and flexibility of travel. To encourage more people to cycle, especially in contexts where cycle ownership and ridership is considerably low, requires understanding the underlying motivations and barriers to cycling. This study models the behavioural influences of individuals’ (N = 348) intended adoption of cycling to work in the Kumasi metropolis in Ghana, West Africa. It deploys the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to explore the extent to which socio-psychological constructs namely; Attitude, perceived behavioural (PBC) and subjective norm (SN) influence intended adoption of cycling as work travel mode. The influence of participants’ perception of their physical environment as well as their personal characteristics, cycling history and bicycle ownership are also examined. Results of an SEM analysis showed that among the TPB constructs, PBC (i.e. perception of self-confidence, personal control and ease of cycling) had the strongest positive and direct effect on participants’ intention to cycle to work. Negative associations were found between attitude and SN and SN and PBC, suggesting that belief about the prestige of cycling relative to other modes, and approval of society and significant others of cycling, influenced perception of control and confidence as well as attitude with respect to cycling. Also, participants’ perception of their environment including traffic-lights, traffic volume and congestion, as well as bicycle ownership and frequency of use, increased intended adoption of cycling. Finally, being female decreased the likelihood of intended cycling adoption. Cycling promotion interventions could be anchored on people’s already strong perceived control and confidence to cycle while addressing negative perceptions and attitudes towards cycling as a mainstream transport mode. Document type: Article