Understanding why people opt for public transport A study on why citizens adopt public transport modes and a set of recommendations to assist policymakers in improving urban mobility will lead to a more sustainable transport model in the future. Industrial Technologies © Jolanta Skalska While many greener transport modes have emerged in recent years, the public isn't always eager to adopt them for a variety of reasons, such as habit, fear or other barriers. In order to increase the use of greener transport options, it is important to understand people's motivations behind adopting the new technology. This was the goal of the EU-funded project 'Understanding social behaviour for eco-friendly multimodal mobility' (USEMOBILITY). Looking at local and regional transport modes, the project also worked on outlining measures to encourage more sustainable mobility. To achieve its aims, the project team surveyed over 10 000 users who have already changed their travel behaviour in Belgium, Germany, Croatia, Hungary, the Netherlands and Austria. It investigated what green transport options they chose and why they did so, analysing as well national trends in passenger transportation. Particular focus was placed on pinpointing why people switched from private cars to public transport. To achieve its aims, the project team also conducted expert interviews and workshops in various countries across Europe to identify factors that influence multimodal transport choices. It found that Europeans behave much more dynamically than expected in shifting transport modes, and identified opportunities for policymakers to support green transport. USEMOBILITY also developed two future scenarios for eco-friendly multimodal mobility for 2020 and 2050 and discussed them in workshops with different stakeholders, including users, politicians and transport companies. It also articulated strategic recommendations for these stakeholders to advance eco-friendly multimodal mobility. These recommendations and a policy brief have been published on the project website , which also contains dissemination tools on the topic such as newsletters, photos and videos. Ultimately, the results of this project are very valuable in commercialising new technologies, relieving congestion and addressing emissions targets. If the recommendations are heeded by policymakers, this will help raise the standard of living in European cities. USEMOBILITY video available here.
