What happens in public transport, stays in public transport? – events in public transport and how they change travel choice through travel satisfaction

Kurzfassung

Transportation is a major factor to target for a reduction of carbon emissions. However, people’s need for mobility will likely increase rather than decrease. One option to enable more mobility while reducing emissions is to increase the use of public transport. However, most people in western countries still decide on individual transport solutions. It is necessary to point out which factors are reasons for this decision. Previous studies have investigated this with post hoc questionnaires. However, data collected during travel is still lacking. We report the first results of an ongoing experience-sampling study with currently 20 participants that traveled along a predefined route. This route took one hour to complete and consisted of travel modes walking, taking a tram, train, and bus with at least three mode changes. Each participant completed the route six to ten times during a typical workday and within two weeks. To imitate an urgency of arriving on time, participants were paid by travel, not time, so delays would mean a higher time cost for the same reimbursement. Every 3.5 minutes, a questionnaire was prompted and asked participants about 1) their current stress level, 2) satisfaction with travel, and 3) satisfaction independent of their travel experience. At the end of each journey, participants answered the Satisfaction with Travel Scale as measured by positive deactivation, cognitive evaluation, and positive activation. At the end of the study, participants answered which transport mode they would choose if they had to travel the same route again. The research questions we aim to answer are 1) what are common events during travel with public transport? 2) how do stress and satisfaction reported during travel correlate with the Satisfaction with Travel at the end of the journey? And 3) how do stress and satisfaction reported during travel correlate with the decision for future travel? The mean response rate to the prompted questionnaires was 80.6%, and 964 events were reported in total. The reported events were categorized into ‘delays’ (68x), ‘other passengers’ (78x), ‘driving style’(15x), ‘infrastructure’ (10x),’positive social interaction’ (49x),’entertainment’ (125x),’being on-time’ (166x),’physical discomfort ’ (117x), ‘physical comfort’ (145x), ‘surroundings’ (35x), ‘running errands’ (33x), ‘others’ (123x). The reported stress ratings were highest for delays and lowest for positive social interactions and surroundings. Travel satisfaction reported during travel was highest for surroundings and lowest for delays and physical discomfort. Travel satisfaction during travel correlated highly with post-journey positive deactivation (0.5), cognitive evaluation (0.51), and positive activation (0.65). Participants who chose public transport at the end of the study had a higher during-travel satisfaction rating (rank biserial correlation: 0.38) than participants who did not choose public transport. These results indicate that events during a journey relevantly influence satisfaction with the journey during and after the trip. Additionally, events during a journey seem to influence a decision for or against public transport usage. With this, our research provides insight into events that cause satisfaction with and, therefore, public transport usage. In the future, these events can be tackled when aiming to make public transport an attractive choice for travel.