Abstract

complex set of factors may affect transportation mode choice. While earlier studies have often considered objective factors in determining preferences of public transport use as a sustainable transportation, subjective factors such as personality traits are underexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence of personality traits on the number of future public transport use. Additionally, “car habit” and “intention toward using public modes” were considered to be important. For this purpose, a case study from departure passengers at Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA, Tehran, Iran) was conducted between January and February 2015 at IKIA. Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) shows that only neuroticism and extraversion personality traits were significant in determining future public transportation mode choice. However, the model indicates that these traits indirectly influence intention and car habit. Neuroticism was found to have a total effect of −0.022 on future public transport use, which represents a negative association with public transport use, while extraversion positively influenced future public transport use with a total effect of 0.031. Moreover, the results found interestingly that car access had a better fit to the data than the number of cars in household (NCH); both had significant positive effect on car habit, but only car access had a significant influence on intention. Furthermore, the effect of socio-demographic variables such as age, gender, educational level, income level, and body mass index (BMI) were determined to be significant in identifying choice of future transport mode to airports, which is explained in the discussion section of this paper. Document type: Article

Abstract

Mobility is one of the most important and challenging aspects that influence climate change, air quality, and especially the quality of citizens&rsquo lives. Therefore, creating sustainable transport solutions makes way for different modes of transport such as the bicycle, which is continuously gaining more supporters, due to the health, economic, and environmental benefits that it provides. However, cyclists are facing several barriers (e.g., lack of infrastructure), a fact that keeps away commuters from using a bicycle for their daily trips. Investigating the factors that reflect on the commuters&rsquo intention to use a bicycle is a sine qua non for the promotion of sustainable mobility. Therefore, the objective of this paper is the investigation of the factors that prevent residents with low experience or with no cultural/lifestyle background in regards to cycling from cycling. The case study of the city of Larnaca (Cyprus) is deployed by exploring the socio-demographic and trip characteristics of the city&rsquo s residents and their relation with the intention to cycle. A two-step approach is developed, namely Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Despite the promotion of cycling that education is attempting to do (successfully), other factors (such as age, distance, and time) appear to prevent Larnaca&rsquo s residents from cycling. Among the actions that local authorities should undertake is that of safety prevention of the vulnerable users of the road network. This group includes elderly people, who need major encouraging interventions by local policymakers and stakeholders. Document type: Article

Abstract

Carsharing is a service that allows the rental of a car to the minute, providing more flexibility to the user. This service appeared in 1948 in Switzerland but it has been growing due to the awareness of Shared Mobility. Carsharing concept has been approached by several researchers. However, there is not so much literature about Portuguese market. The impacts of carsharing are known to be the reduction of C02 emissions since it contributes to the reduction of the number of cars parked and in circulation in the big cities (1), the inclusion of all fixed costs in the final price, as the user only pays the miles he drives (2) and the flexibility carsharing gives the users to move around in the city (3). This study’s goal is to understand the Portuguese perception of carsharing use, taking into account benefits such as convenience, environmental impact and costs considerations. It is also crucial to understand the level of service knowledge among Portuguese people, since this factor can influence the perception and a possible intention to use it. It turns out that most of the Portuguese know what carsharing is but do not know very well how it works. In general, the Portuguese people, whether users or non-users, do not see carsharing as a cheap service, but consider the service convenient. As far as environmental impact is concerned, attitudes differ. Users have a positive attitude regarding carsharing impact on the environment, while non-users have a negative attitude. This perception impacts on the attitude of users and non-users. While the former has a positive attitude towards the use of carsharing, the same cannot be concluded from the latter. Most users intend to continue to use carsharing, unlike most non-users who do not want to try the service. O carsharing é um serviço que permite o aluguer de um carro ao minuto, proporcionando mais flexibilidade ao utilizador. Este serviço apareceu pela primeira vez em 1948 na Suíça e tem vindo a crescer devido à popularidade do fenómeno da Mobilidade Partilhada. O carsharing tem sido um conceito muito abordado por investigadores estrangeiros, nunca tendo sido muito investigado em Portugal. Os impactos do carsharing são conhecidos por ser a redução de emissões de C02 uma vez que contribui para a diminuição do número de carros estacionados e em circulação nas grandes cidades (1), a não inclusão de custos fixos que a utilização de carro próprio acarreta no preço final- o utilizador só paga os quilómetros que conduz (2) e a flexibilidade que dá aos utilizadores para se movimentarem na cidade (3). Este estudo tem como objetivo perceber qual é a perceção dos portuguese face à utilização do carsharing, tendo em conta benefícios como a conveniência, o impacto ambiental e fatores económicos. Torna-se crucial perceber também o nível de conhecimento do serviço por parte dos portugueses, uma vez que este fator pode influenciar a perceção e uma possível intenção de utilização do mesmo. Conclui-se que a maior parte dos portugueses sabe o que é carsharing mas não sabe muito bem como funciona. Em geral, os portugueses, quer utilizadores quer não utilizadores, não veem o carsharing como um serviço barato, mas consideram o serviço conveniente. No que diz respeito ao impacto ambiental, as atitudes divergem. Os utilizadores têm uma atitude positiva quanto ao impacto do carsharing no ambiente, enquanto os não utilizadores têm uma atitude negativa. Esta perceção impacta na atitude dos utilizadores e não utilizadores. Enquanto que os primeiros têm uma atitude positiva face à utilização de carsharing, já não se pode concluir o mesmo dos segundos. Na sua maioria os utilizadores pretendem continuar a utilizar carsharing, ao contrário da maioria dos não utilizadores que não pretende experimentar o serviço.

Abstract

In spite of the purported positive environmental consequences of electrifying the light duty vehicle fleet, the number of electric vehicles (EVs) in use is still insignificant. One reason for the modest adoption figures is that the mass acceptance of EVs to a large extent is reliant on consumers’ perception of EVs. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the drivers for and barriers against consumer adoption of plug-in EVs, as well as an overview of the theoretical perspectives that have been utilized for understanding consumer intentions and adoption behavior towards EVs. In addition, we identify gaps and limitations in existing research and suggest areas in which future research would be able to contribute. Document type: Article