The Role of Infrastructural and Psychological Factors in Sustainable Transportation Mode Choices

Individual mobility behavior continues to pose a challenge to achieving climate goals, as motorized individual transportation is still favored over public transportation. The present study examines five possible drivers of more sustainable transportation mode choices: two infrastructural factors, sp...

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Main Authors: Eva Gößwein, Johannes Aertker, Dirk Wittowsky, Magnus Liebherr
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/11/5953
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author Eva Gößwein
Johannes Aertker
Dirk Wittowsky
Magnus Liebherr
author_facet Eva Gößwein
Johannes Aertker
Dirk Wittowsky
Magnus Liebherr
author_sort Eva Gößwein
collection DOAJ
description Individual mobility behavior continues to pose a challenge to achieving climate goals, as motorized individual transportation is still favored over public transportation. The present study examines five possible drivers of more sustainable transportation mode choices: two infrastructural factors, specifically city center accessibility and railway accessibility, and three psychological variables: adaptability, climate change perception, and car orientation. A sample of <i>N</i> = 187 participants was collected in a German city in the Lower Rhine region. Our findings, based on ordinal logistic regression models, indicate that railway accessibility and car orientation are associated with both the use of motorized and public transportation. While center accessibility and adaptability predicted the use of motorized individual transportation, these variables did not significantly relate to the use of public transportation. Also, our results indicate that climate change perception does not relate to transportation use. This surprising finding is discussed in detail. On a more general level, the study’s insights reinforce previous findings and stress the importance of considering not only infrastructural factors in urban spaces but also the characteristics and attitudes of their inhabitants.
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spelling doaj-art-624ada844e1a466db0d3b950adca2a0a2025-08-20T03:11:21ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-05-011511595310.3390/app15115953The Role of Infrastructural and Psychological Factors in Sustainable Transportation Mode ChoicesEva Gößwein0Johannes Aertker1Dirk Wittowsky2Magnus Liebherr3Chair of General Psychology: Cognition, University of Duisburg-Essen, 47057 Duisburg, GermanyChair of Mobility and Urban Planning, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45127 Essen, GermanyChair of Mobility and Urban Planning, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45127 Essen, GermanyChair of Mechatronics, University of Duisburg-Essen, 47057 Duisburg, GermanyIndividual mobility behavior continues to pose a challenge to achieving climate goals, as motorized individual transportation is still favored over public transportation. The present study examines five possible drivers of more sustainable transportation mode choices: two infrastructural factors, specifically city center accessibility and railway accessibility, and three psychological variables: adaptability, climate change perception, and car orientation. A sample of <i>N</i> = 187 participants was collected in a German city in the Lower Rhine region. Our findings, based on ordinal logistic regression models, indicate that railway accessibility and car orientation are associated with both the use of motorized and public transportation. While center accessibility and adaptability predicted the use of motorized individual transportation, these variables did not significantly relate to the use of public transportation. Also, our results indicate that climate change perception does not relate to transportation use. This surprising finding is discussed in detail. On a more general level, the study’s insights reinforce previous findings and stress the importance of considering not only infrastructural factors in urban spaces but also the characteristics and attitudes of their inhabitants.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/11/5953adaptabilitytransport mode choicetraffic psychologyaccessibilityclimate change perceptionmobility behavior
spellingShingle Eva Gößwein
Johannes Aertker
Dirk Wittowsky
Magnus Liebherr
The Role of Infrastructural and Psychological Factors in Sustainable Transportation Mode Choices
Applied Sciences
adaptability
transport mode choice
traffic psychology
accessibility
climate change perception
mobility behavior
title The Role of Infrastructural and Psychological Factors in Sustainable Transportation Mode Choices
title_full The Role of Infrastructural and Psychological Factors in Sustainable Transportation Mode Choices
title_fullStr The Role of Infrastructural and Psychological Factors in Sustainable Transportation Mode Choices
title_full_unstemmed The Role of Infrastructural and Psychological Factors in Sustainable Transportation Mode Choices
title_short The Role of Infrastructural and Psychological Factors in Sustainable Transportation Mode Choices
title_sort role of infrastructural and psychological factors in sustainable transportation mode choices
topic adaptability
transport mode choice
traffic psychology
accessibility
climate change perception
mobility behavior
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/11/5953
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