Abstract
Early evaluations of travel change programs demonstrated dramatic success in shifting people out of cars and into transit and active travel. Yet methodological shortcomings of early studies combined with newer more rigorous evaluations have called into question the dramatic early results. In this study, we use a randomized field experiment of incoming graduate students at the University of California, Los Angeles to answer two research questions. First, do travel behavior change programs work? And second, why do they tend to work for movers, but not non-movers? We test two competing hypothesized mechanisms for how travel interventions work: (1) by breaking travel habits during a period of self-reflection (habit pathway), or (2) by improving the transit quality of one’s home neighborhood (residential location pathway). We find that a low-cost, informational program effectively altered the travel patterns of movers, but not non-movers. Overall, we find little support for the residential location pathway. Members of the treatment group did not live in significantly different neighborhoods compared to members of the control group. In addition, the treatment remained effective when controlling for residential location. This provides indirect evidence for the habit pathway, by which travel behavior programs influence travel behavior through information provided during periods of reflection. Behavioral change campaigns targeted at recent movers are likely just as effective as campaigns targeting those preparing to move as both groups are undergoing periods of reflection.
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Notes
As of 2015, three transit agencies serve the UCLA campus: the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus served UCLA with six routes and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) and Culver City Bus together provided another five routes. In 2014, about 3650 students (12% of commuting students) held subsidized public transit passes for one of these three agencies (UCLA 2014).
UCLA’s Transportation Services previously provided web-based transit information, but bus routes were shown on separate maps, which hampered students’ ability to form a holistic understanding of the transit system. In addition, students had to proactively seek out information, which they may not have known existed. For many students, the informational packet may be the first concrete evidence that UCLA is well-served by transit.
UCLA Transportation Services staff members offered feedback on early versions of the Guide and it was made available to Transportation Services once the study was completed.
Note: 44 students who accepted admission in May 2015 did not matriculate in the fall.
An October survey allowed enough time for students to explore alternative travel options and develop a travel routine. We chose to survey students in October rather than in November or December when students are busy preparing for exams and final projects and may be less likely to respond to the survey.
UCLA Transportation Services staff reviewed the survey instrument and the survey was piloted with a limited number of second and third-year graduate students prior to implementation.
Survey travel mode response options included: Drive (alone), Drive (carpool), Passenger (carpool), Ride public transit, Walk, Bike, Other.
We explained that this information would not be shared and would be used to determine their travel distance to campus. Because of potential concerns about privacy, we encouraged concerned students to provide the nearest cross-streets rather than a street number. To maximize overall survey response rate, respondents were not required to answer residential location questions.
Mize, Trenton, Long Doan, J. Scott Long. (in progress) “A General Framework for Comparing Marginal Effects Across Models”.
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Ralph, K.M., Brown, A.E. The role of habit and residential location in travel behavior change programs, a field experiment. Transportation 46, 719–734 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-017-9842-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-017-9842-7