Too Good To Be True? An Assessment of the Melbourne Travel Behaviour Modification Pilot

Abstract

Governments, planners and analysts across Australia agree that mode shift from the automobile to walking, cycling and public transport is desirable for environmental, social and health reasons, but in all our major cities trends are heading in the opposite direction. Various remedies have been proposed, but all have their drawbacks. Road pricing, for example, is widely supported by transport planners, but is extremely unpopular with the public. Curtailing road expansion in favour of increased investment in public transport would be popular with environmentalists and many community groups, but is strongly resisted by road authorities and motoring organizations. Wouldn't it be nice if there was an inexpensive, pain-free way of moving towards sustainable urban transport? Enter Travel Behaviour Modification (TBM), represented in Australia by TravelSmart (an adaptation of the IndiMark concept) and Travel Blending. TBM uses individualised marketing to change public perceptions of the attractiveness of more sustainable modes, with the aim of changing travel behaviour. Before we consider the effectiveness of TBM, it is worth reflecting on why this approach might be expected to gain wide support.

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