Current travel behaviour change methodologies are considered from the perspective of achieving mass behavioural change, rather than by aggregating individual and unconnected actions. As behavioural sciences and market research increasingly return to the study of group dynamics and community behaviour it is possible that the emphasis on the individual rational decision maker in personalised travel planning (in its current form) takes travelbehaviour change in the opposite direction. This may become a methodological dead end, because it can not be effectively scaled to achieve sufficient volume change. It is suggested that personalised travel planning in theUK has failed to develop further than a number of trial projects because the results and success are predicated on achieving success with small groups of individuals switching modes (i.e. by identifying those with a propensity to change anyway), which then cannot be replicated. This is not a model for influencing mass behaviour. An approach which places much greater emphasis on communities of common interest, social networks and peer to peer relationships was tested. The existing personalised travel planning models are invariably based on a traditional media and sales push approach, where information is passed down to passive audiences. The alternative pullmodel is based on the premise that individuals are much more likely to beinfluenced by personal intervention from friends, family and colleagues. Central to this approach is securing a critical mass in participation. Forexample in Moonee Valley, Melbourne the travel behaviour change project achieved 40% participation from a 10,000 household group. This was delivered through embedding the programme in the community, with local influencersand networkers recruited to directly engage with people and interpreting the message to suit the environment. In Melbourne the authors sought to create a tipping point for a social epidemic, encouraging a community desirefor change and at the same time seeking a cure to the individual addiction to the private car. The marketing world is recognising the importance ofword of mouth (WOM) and particularly the difference between endogenous and exogenous WOM. The climate change debate is indicative of the problems faced, with the equivalent of environmental fatigue developing for individuals faced with contradictory and strident messages from experts and the media. For the covering abstract see ITRD E145999
Abstract