Temporary Structural Change: A Strategy to Break Car-Use Habit and Promote Public Transport

Abstract

Congestion, excessive energy and resource consumption, adverse environmental effect such as noise, vibration and emission of various pollutants, global warming are known negative consequence of automotive transportation. This paper highlights the possible effectiveness of temporary structural change for breaking habits of using the automobile. For instance, people who develop a strong habit of using the automobile may be forced to use public transport when the automobile is temporally unavailable. If the automobile has been unavailable for some time, the driver must use public transport repeatedly. Thus, the frequency of using public transport increases and the frequency of using the automobile decreases. These changes in relative frequencies may weaken or break the old habit of using the automobile as well as strengthen or develop a new habit of using public transport. Additional examples of feasible temporary structural changes include freeway closures, offering free public transport on selected days, distributing free public transport tickets to frequent riders, and implementing road pricing on a temporary basis. These strategies may induce the use of alternative modes which may break the habit of using the automobile.

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