Whilst it can still be argued that travel by private motor vehicles has many benefits, there is no doubt that travel patterns dominated by private vehicle trips prevent communities from being more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. As a result, there has been increasing interest in the application of demand-side measures to achieve changes in travel awareness and behaviour that will help to address these problems. In Europe the phrase "mobility management" is often used to describe the design and application of these kinds of measures. Typically, mobility management processes involve some kind of direct contact with people in a target population and the provision of personalised travel information and advice. A key aim of the contact, advice and provision of information is to assist and encourage those contacted to change their travel behaviour by reducing car use and/or increasing use of other more sustainable modes of transport. Whilst the provision of targeted travel information and advice is considered to be an important component of mobility management interventions, this study explores ways to improve the quality and outcomes of the direct contact - which usually entails some kind of conversation or dialogue - between project staff and members of the target population. More specifically, the objective of the study is to present a conceptual model that helps explain how to go about influencing travel behaviour through conversation, and the text is supplemented by a practical example of how this model can be used to facilitate travel behaviour change. For the covering abstract please see ITRD E135207.
Abstract