A 90 Point Thesis Submitted to Victoria University of Wellington, As Partial Fulfilment of Requirements for the Degree of Master of Environmental Studies
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
MOTIVATING PUBLIC TRANSPORT USE: TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR AND INTEGRATED TICKETING FOR GREATER WELLINGTON Camilla Morley ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES 593 2011 A 90 point thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington, as partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Studies School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences Victoria University of Wellington 1st March 2011 MOTIVATING PUBLIC TRANSPORT USE: TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR AND INTEGRATED TICKETING FOR GREATER WELLINGTON Camilla Morley ABSTRACT Car use is engrained in our culture. Changing behaviour towards using more sustainable travel modes such as public transport is notoriously difficult, despite the increasing awareness of environmental problems caused by car use. Integrated ticketing is a policy measure more recently used in strategies towards achieving integrated and sustainable transport systems. It allows a passenger to travel with one public transport ticket throughout a region. This research uses a mixed method approach to assess how integrated ticketing may affect public transport use in Greater Wellington. The psychological constructs determining decisions to use public transport are tested using an integrated environmental behaviour model proposed by Bamberg and Möser (2007). The results support the integrated modelling approach. Intentions to use public transport are indirectly affected by awareness of environmental problems caused by car use mediated through social norms, guilt, perceived behavioural control and attitude. The intention to use public transport explains 56% of the variance in public transport behaviour. Integrated ticketing presents an opportunity to increase the ease and convenience of travel, shown to be important in the model. The majority of survey respondents perceived that they would use integrated ticketing in Greater Wellington and that it was important both on a regional and national scale. Achieving an effective integrated ticketing system in Greater Wellington will be conditional on firstly improving public transport service reliability and stakeholder communication. Integrating fares across the region and across modes will also be crucial to the success of the system. Key words: integrated ticketing, public transport, pro-environmental behaviour, modal shift i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To all those who have supported me over the last year, from taking coffee breaks with me to guiding my experience in the realm of public transport and environmental psychology, thank you. A huge thank you to my supervisor Sophie Bond. You have been a constant pillar of support and encouragement throughout the entire research process. I could not have asked for more. Thanks also to Taciano Milfont and the members of the Environmental Psychology Lab, without whom, the psychological elements of this research project would not have been possible. Also, to Ralph Chapman who guided my thoughts at the beginning of the Masters which was much appreciated. To the team at NZTA who immersed me in many of the issues integrated ticketing was facing in 2009/10, thank you for broadening my perspective and introducing me to some valuable contacts for this research. To David Lewry at Greater Wellington Regional Council, thank you for your contributions to this research, I hope it proves useful for Greater Wellington. I am very grateful to the New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities for the scholarship awarded and your support during this research. Thanks also to the team at Snapper for your collaboration. My appreciation also goes out to all those who gave up their time to participate in my research interviews or survey. To my friends and family in Wellington and the UK, thank you for preserving my sanity, for getting me „out and about‟ and organising some fantastic breaks! Finally to Jules, thank you for your proofing, your patience…and for just being you. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of tables ..................................................................................................... vi List of figures .................................................................................................. vii List of abbreviations ....................................................................................... viii Chapter 1 – Introduction ................................................................................... 1 1.1 The New Zealand situation ............................................................... 2 1.2 The Greater Wellington region ......................................................... 4 1.3 Purpose ............................................................................................ 5 1.4 Scope ............................................................................................... 5 1.5 Aim and research questions .............................................................. 6 1.6 Thesis outline ................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2 – Methods ......................................................................................... 9 2.1 Interviews ...................................................................................... 10 2.1.1 Rationale ........................................................................................... 10 2.1.2 Interview schedules ........................................................................... 10 2.1.3 Recruitment method .......................................................................... 11 2.1.4 Interview structure ............................................................................ 12 2.1.5 Interview data analysis ...................................................................... 12 2.2 Online survey ................................................................................. 13 2.2.1 Rationale ........................................................................................... 13 2.2.2 Survey design ................................................................................... 13 2.2.3 Survey questions ............................................................................... 14 2.2.4 Pilot study ......................................................................................... 15 2.2.5 Recruitment methods ........................................................................ 16 2.2.6 Responses ......................................................................................... 16 2.2.7 Analysis of online survey data ........................................................... 17 2.3 Methods summary ........................................................................... 18 Chapter 3 – Integrating the transport system ................................................ 20 3.1 Integrated land transport ................................................................. 22 3.2 Integrated ticketing and fares .......................................................... 23 3.2.1 The expansion of integrated ticketing ................................................ 25 iii 3.3 The potential opportunities of integrated ticketing .......................... 27 3.3.1 Passenger benefits ............................................................................. 28 3.3.2 Operator and local authority benefits ................................................. 30 3.4 The potential barriers to integrated ticketing ................................... 36 3.4.1 Regional landscape ........................................................................... 36 3.4.2 Over-complicated systems ................................................................ 38 3.4.3 Cost .................................................................................................. 39 3.4.4 Policy and operator conflict .............................................................. 42 3.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................... 45 Chapter 4 – Choosing public transport: decisions and behavioural concepts ........................................................................................................ 47 4.1 Pro-environmental behavioural theories ......................................... 48 4.1.1 The norm activation model (NAM) and the value-belief-norm theory (VBN)............................................................................................... 50 4.1.2 The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) ............................................ 54 4.1.3 An integrated theoretical approach .................................................... 56 4.2 Barriers to reducing car use and using public transport ................... 60 4.2.1 Structural barriers ............................................................................. 60 4.2.2 Psychological barriers ....................................................................... 62 4.3 Implications of barriers for reducing car use and encouraging public transport ........................................................................................ 66 4.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................... 67 Chapter 5 – Results: environmental behaviour model................................... 69 5.1 Sub-sample characteristics ............................................................. 70 5.2 Measures ........................................................................................ 71 5.3 Test of the measurement models ..................................................... 74 5.3.1 Goodness-of-fit indices ....................................................................