On effects of behavioral intention on travel preferences for electric car-sharing services: Empirical insights from the Netherlands

Abstract

Behavioral intention and use behavior toward emerging mobility services have received much attention recently in transportation research. Although it is commonly conceptualized that behavioral intention affects use behavior, these two subjects have been studied largely in isolation. To fill this gap, this paper investigates the effects of behavioral intention on travel preferences for electric car-sharing services (ECS). Based on a stated choice experiment with measurements of psychological factors deployed in the Netherlands, a series of hybrid choice models were established, in which various effects of behavioral intention on travel preferences were examined. The estimation of these models reveals the following findings. First, behavioral intention significantly influences people’s preferences for ECS. Holding all else unchanged, a higher behavioral intention results in a higher propensity to choose ECS. Second, people’s socio-demographic characteristics and travel context have significant interaction effects with behavioral intention and further influence their preferences for ECS. Third, among the ECS-specific attributes, access time has a significant interaction effect with behavioral intention, which can decrease the value of access time. Fourth, compared to social influence and personal attitude, peoples’ behavioral intention toward ECS has a larger influence on their choices.