How Do Information Interventions Influence Walking and Cycling Behavior?
In the context of promoting sustainable mobility, walking and cycling have been widely recognized for their environmental and health benefits. However, a notable gap often exists between residents’ motivation to engage in these modes and their actual behavior. This study focuses on this motivation–b...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/15/2602 |
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| author | Wenxuan Lu Lan Wu Chaoying Yin Ming Yang Qiyuan Yang Xiaoyi Zhang |
| author_facet | Wenxuan Lu Lan Wu Chaoying Yin Ming Yang Qiyuan Yang Xiaoyi Zhang |
| author_sort | Wenxuan Lu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the context of promoting sustainable mobility, walking and cycling have been widely recognized for their environmental and health benefits. However, a notable gap often exists between residents’ motivation to engage in these modes and their actual behavior. This study focuses on this motivation–behavior discrepancy and explores how heterogeneous information interventions—within the constraints of the existing built environment—can effectively influence residents’ travel psychology and behavior. Drawing on Protection Motivation Theory, this study aims to uncover the psychological mechanisms behind travel-mode choices and quantify the relative impacts of different types of information interventions. A travel survey was conducted in Yangzhou, China, collecting data from 1052 residents. Cluster analysis was performed using travel psychology data to categorize travel motivations and examine their alignment with actual travel behavior. A random forest model was then employed to assess the effects of individual attributes, travel characteristics, and information intervention attributes on the choice of walking and cycling. The results reveal a significant motivation–behavior gap: while 76% of surveyed residents expressed motivation to walk or cycle, only 30% actually adopted these modes. Based on this, further research shows that informational attributes exhibit a stronger effect in terms of promoting walking and cycling behavior compared to individual attributes and travel characteristics. Among these, health-related information demonstrates the maximum efficacy in areas with well-developed infrastructure. Specifically, health-related information has a greater impact on cycling (21.4%), while environmental information exerts a stronger influence on walking (7.31%). These findings suggest that leveraging information to promote walking and cycling should be more targeted. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7e9fe4ec465b425ea584d52ef82f0644 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj-art-7e9fe4ec465b425ea584d52ef82f06442025-08-20T03:02:58ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092025-07-011515260210.3390/buildings15152602How Do Information Interventions Influence Walking and Cycling Behavior?Wenxuan Lu0Lan Wu1Chaoying Yin2Ming Yang3Qiyuan Yang4Xiaoyi Zhang5College of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaCollege of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaCollege of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaNanjing Institute of City & Transport Planning Co., Ltd., Nanjing 210008, ChinaCollege of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaCollege of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaIn the context of promoting sustainable mobility, walking and cycling have been widely recognized for their environmental and health benefits. However, a notable gap often exists between residents’ motivation to engage in these modes and their actual behavior. This study focuses on this motivation–behavior discrepancy and explores how heterogeneous information interventions—within the constraints of the existing built environment—can effectively influence residents’ travel psychology and behavior. Drawing on Protection Motivation Theory, this study aims to uncover the psychological mechanisms behind travel-mode choices and quantify the relative impacts of different types of information interventions. A travel survey was conducted in Yangzhou, China, collecting data from 1052 residents. Cluster analysis was performed using travel psychology data to categorize travel motivations and examine their alignment with actual travel behavior. A random forest model was then employed to assess the effects of individual attributes, travel characteristics, and information intervention attributes on the choice of walking and cycling. The results reveal a significant motivation–behavior gap: while 76% of surveyed residents expressed motivation to walk or cycle, only 30% actually adopted these modes. Based on this, further research shows that informational attributes exhibit a stronger effect in terms of promoting walking and cycling behavior compared to individual attributes and travel characteristics. Among these, health-related information demonstrates the maximum efficacy in areas with well-developed infrastructure. Specifically, health-related information has a greater impact on cycling (21.4%), while environmental information exerts a stronger influence on walking (7.31%). These findings suggest that leveraging information to promote walking and cycling should be more targeted.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/15/2602walking and cyclingtravel behaviormotivation–behavior discrepancyinformation interventionsbuilt environmentprotection motivation theory |
| spellingShingle | Wenxuan Lu Lan Wu Chaoying Yin Ming Yang Qiyuan Yang Xiaoyi Zhang How Do Information Interventions Influence Walking and Cycling Behavior? Buildings walking and cycling travel behavior motivation–behavior discrepancy information interventions built environment protection motivation theory |
| title | How Do Information Interventions Influence Walking and Cycling Behavior? |
| title_full | How Do Information Interventions Influence Walking and Cycling Behavior? |
| title_fullStr | How Do Information Interventions Influence Walking and Cycling Behavior? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Do Information Interventions Influence Walking and Cycling Behavior? |
| title_short | How Do Information Interventions Influence Walking and Cycling Behavior? |
| title_sort | how do information interventions influence walking and cycling behavior |
| topic | walking and cycling travel behavior motivation–behavior discrepancy information interventions built environment protection motivation theory |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/15/2602 |
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