Expanding the Theory of Planned Behaviour to Reveal Urban Residents’ Pro-Environment Travel Behaviour

Abstract

Exploring the mechanism that influences the choice of urban public travel mode is an important policy research topic that can promote urban residents’ pro-environment travel (PET) behaviour and relieve the pressure on urban traffic and environmental problems. By expanding the theory of planned behaviour by considering the effects of the quality of public transport service and individual behaviour, this paper establishes a mixed PET behaviour model. Grounded theory is used to analyse data obtained from in-depth interviews, with the aim of determining the relationships among different attributes of the quality of public transport service and PET. An empirical examination in the form of a questionnaire was conducted in Changsha, China, to obtain the intensity and mechanism of various factors influencing pro-environment behaviour decision-making. The results reveal three new pieces of information. First, the influence of many psychological variables (except subjective norms) is consistent with the prediction results of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), and the predictions of the model are accurate. More specifically, intention (0.535) and habit (0.354) are key factors in PET behaviour, while attitude (0.527) has the most significant effect on intention towards PET behaviour. Second, the perceived service quality of public transport has a direct and significant impact on intention towards PET behaviour. Satisfaction with public transport service quality exerts a mediating effect on perceived service quality and PET behaviour. More specifically, operation and management (0.808) and vehicle environment (0.809) have the most important influence on intention towards PET behaviour. Last but not least, the extent of the influence of PET behaviour varies based on travellers’ demographic characteristics. The driving age, income and ownership of private cars show the greatest impact. The perceived service quality of public transport and travellers’ social and economic characteristics all play roles in the psychology of travel decisions, and are associated with PET behaviour on several distinct levels. From the perspectives of passenger psychology, public transport service quality and personal attributes of passengers, this paper provides a scientific basis for decision-making in transportation systems and the formulation of traffic intervention strategies to promote voluntary public reductions in carbon-intensive travel behaviour.

Fostering Resident Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Roles of Destination Image and Confucian Culture

“…Prior studies have indicated that PEB is a significant issue in environmental research. Key theories such as the theory of planned behavior [6][7][8][9]; norm-activation model [5,6]; value-belief-norm theory [7]; and place attachment [10] have been employed to predict environmental behavior. Environmental attitudes, individual beliefs, emotions, intentions, and behaviors related to the environment [11,12] are recognized as key factors in the prediction of environmental behavior.…”

Psychosocial Barriers of Public Transport Use and Social Exclusion among Older Adults: Empirical Evidence from Lahore, Pakistan

“…Habit. The strength of public transport habits was recorded using three items developed by [ 118 ]. Similar to other scales, the items were judged by a 5-point Likert scale (1—strongly disagree to 5—strongly agree).…”

Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception of The Farmers Pepper Farming Toward Sustainability

“…In this matter, the intention is to introduce and adapt to the approach of sustainable farming by the extension agents. Fishbein and Ajzen (1975;; Chen et al (2019) mention that behavioural, normative and control beliefs provide the basis for attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control, respectively. These beliefs are assumed to be formed in daily encounters by way of direct observation; by accepting information from outside sources, such as the news media or the internet; and derived in a process of inference from other beliefs formed in the past.…”