Enhancing the effectiveness of travel awareness campaigns via the inclusion of theoretical-based content

Abstract

Travel awareness campaigns are one of the most commonly used ‘mobility management interventions’, which aim to change individuals’ travel choices and behaviour to more sustainable transport modes. However, despite the widespread uptake of this measure and associated costs, the extent to which awareness campaigns work, and also how they can be best designed to increase their effectiveness, remains unclear. We begin by providing an overview of current understanding of individuals’ modal choice decision making processes, and how this knowledge can be applied to the design of awareness campaigns. To illustrate the benefits of including psychological-based content in the design of travel awareness messaging, an overview of a theoretical-based randomised controlled personalised travel planning intervention study conducted in Hammersmith, UK, is presented. The results obtained show that those people who were exposed to theoretical-based materials reported a significantly greater change in behaviour and theoretical stage-movement, compared to those who received non-theoretical materials and also the control group. Based on the results of this study, we conclude by suggesting how future awareness campaigns can be improved via the inclusion of theoretical-based content.