No open-access location is known for this record yet.
No open-access location is known for this record yet.
This research investigates social influence in transportation mode choice. Understanding the role of social influence in travel behavior may be utilized to improve transportation policies and increase the use of alternative travel modes. Individuals tend to use the same mode of transportation as those to whom they are socially connected. However, competing explanations for this result remain. When two friends or colleagues make the same choice, it is difficult to distinguish between social influence, shared preferences and the effects of the environment/circumstances. Challenges also arise because individuals self-select into social groups and there likely exist reciprocal and affirming influences between connected individuals. Each of these explanations has different implications for applications to transportation policies and programs. Although all three are important to consider, in this paper the authors focus on the third source; shared environment. If friendships form because of characteristics that are also related to mode choice, there is still some social process going on. Further, if two individuals are reciprocally influencing one another, this is also a social process. So, the third issue is the focus here; whether or how an environmental factor related to the physical environment can be accounted for and addressed as a potential cause for similarities in behavior. The authors address this issue using an instrumental variable probit model. The model results suggest that although alter and ego mode choice is partly explained by environmental factors, there is some portion of alter behavior which may still be influencing the ego.
Loading…
Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.