Exploring Sustainable Transportation Attitudes and Stages of Change Using Survey and Geospatial Data in New England Campus Commuters

Abstract

This paper presents findings of a two-campus project designed to assess alternative/sustainable transportation (AT), which is defined as commuting via non-SOVs (single occupancy vehicles) such as transit, carpooling, walking, or biking. One of the objectives was to test the application of a well-known behavior change model, the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), to transportation behaviors. Additionally, geospatial analysis and visualization were applied using the TTM measures. The survey results show that commuting distances, transit connectivity, and status (i.e., students, staff, and faculty) affected commute modes and stages of readiness to use AT. Another important finding was that the survey data for AT replicated TTM relationship predictions between constructs and stages of change.