Commuting and wellbeing in London: The roles of commute mode and local public transport connectivity.

PublishedJournal ArticleOBJECTIVES: To explore the relationships between commute mode, neighbourhood public transport connectivity and subjective wellbeing. METHOD: The study used data on 3630 commuters in London from wave two of Understanding Society (2010/11). Multivariate linear regressions were used to investigate how commute mode and neighbourhood public transport connectivity were associated with subjective wellbeing for all London commuters and for public transport commuters only. Subjective wellbeing was operationalized in terms of both a positive expression (life satisfaction measured by a global single-item question) and a more negative expression (mental distress measured by the General Health Questionnaire). Logistic regression was also used to explore the predictors of public transport over non-public transport commutes. RESULTS: After accounting for potentially-confounding area-level and individual-level socioeconomic and commute-related variables, only walking commutes (but not other modes) were associated with significantly higher life satisfaction than car use but not with lower mental distress, compared to driving. While better public transport connectivity was associated with significantly lower mental distress in general, train users with better connectivity had higher levels of mental distress. Moreover, connectivity was unrelated to likelihood of using public transport for commuting. Instead, public transport commutes were more likely amongst younger commuters who made longer distance commutes and had comparatively fewer children and cars within the household. CONCLUSION: The findings highlight the heterogeneity of relationships between commute mode, public transport connectivity and subjective wellbeing and have implications for intervention strategies and policies designed to promote commuting behaviour change.This work was undertaken as part of the first author's PhD funded by a Shell Global Solutions (UK) award to CA and supervised by CA, MW and SS. CA is partially funded by UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care of the South West Peninsula PenCLAHRC. MW is partially funded by NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Environmental Change and Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with Public Health England (PHE), and in collaboration with the University of Exeter, University College London, and the Met Office. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Shell Global Solutions (UK), the NHS or the NIHR, the Department of Health or PHE. The authorship order reflects relative contribution

What cognitive mechanisms predict travel mode choice? A systematic review with meta-analysis

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this record.Reduced private car use can limit greenhouse gas emissions and improve public health. It is unclear, however, how promotion of alternative transport choices can be optimised. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to identify potentially modifiable cognitive mechanisms that have been related to car use and use of alternative transport modes. A qualitative synthesis of measures of potentially modifiable mechanisms based on 43 studies yielded 26 conceptually distinct mechanism categories. Meta-analyses of associations between these mechanisms and car use/non-use generated 205 effects sizes (Pearson’s r) from 35 studies. The strongest correlates of car use were intentions, perceived behavioural control, attitudes and habit. The strongest correlates of alternative transportation choices were intentions, perceived behavioural control and attitudes. Implications for researchers and policy implementation are discussed

Consideration of environmental factors in reflections on car purchases: Attitudinal, behavioural and sociodemographic predictors among a large UK sample

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record Encouraging the purchase of low-emission vehicles could reduce the environmental impact of growing global car ownership. To date, however, there is relatively little research into the degree to which environmental features, such as reduced CO2 emissions, are considered important when reflecting on car purchase decisions using large representative samples. This issue was explored using data from wave four (2013/14) of the UK Household Longitudinal Study, weighted to be representative of the UK population (N = 12,895). Principal components analysis identified three types of considerations during car purchase reflections: Utilitarian, Image-conscious and Environmental. Logistic and Ordinary Least Squares regressions identified attitudinal, behavioural and sociodemographic predictors of reporting environmental considerations during car purchase. Consideration of environmental factors during reflections on car purchases was more likely among those with higher climate change concerns and topic engagement, as well as self-reported pro-environmental behaviours more generally. Environmental considerations were also higher amongst women, older adults, non-white ethnic groups, urban residents and among individuals in Scotland (vs. London). Contrary to previous findings, richer and more educated respondents were less likely to consider environmental factors, with income positively related to image factors such as brand. Although our findings offer some support for the pro-environmental attitude–behaviour consistency hypothesis, they also highlight key non-attitudinal, sociodemographic factors underlying car purchase reflections that may help social-marketers and policy makers identify key audiences to more effectively promote low-emission vehicle purchases.Shell Global Solutions(NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care of the South West Peninsula PenCLAHRCNIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Environmental Change and Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with Public Health Englan

Load Generators for Automatic Simulation of Urban Fleets

[EN] To ensure cities sustainability, we must deal with, among other challenges, traffic congestion, and its associated carbon emissions. We can approach such a problem from two perspectives: the transition to electric vehicles, which implies the need for charging station infrastructure, and the optimization of traffic flow. However, cities are complex systems, so it is helpful to test changes on them in controlled environments like the ones provided by simulators. In our work, we use SimFleet, an agent-based fleet simulator. Nevertheless, SimFleet does not provide tools for easily setting up big experiments, neither to simulate the realistic movement of its agents inside a city. Aiming to solve that, we enhanced SimFleet introducing two fully configurable generators that automatize the creation of experiments. First, the charging stations generator, which allocates a given amount of charging stations following a certain distribution, enabling to simulate how transports would charge and compare distributions. Second, the load generator, which populates the experiment with a given number of agents of a given type, introducing them dynamically in the simulation, and assigns them a movement that can be either random or based on real city data. The generators proved to be useful for comparing different distributions of charging stations as well as different agent behaviors over the same complex setup.This work was partially supported by MINECO/FEDER RTI2018-095390-B-C31 project of the Spanish government. Pasqual Martí and Jaume Jordán are funded by UPV PAID-06-18 project. Jaume Jordán is also funded by grant APOSTD/2018/010 of Generalitat Valenciana - Fondo Social Europeo.Martí Gimeno, P.; Jordán, J.; Palanca Cámara, J.; Julian Inglada, VJ. (2020). Load Generators for Automatic Simulation of Urban Fleets. Springer. 394-405. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51999-5_33S394405Campo, C.: Directory facilitator and service discovery agent. FIPA Document Repository (2002)Dong, J., Liu, C., Lin, Z.: Charging infrastructure planning for promoting battery electric vehicles: an activity-based approach using multiday travel data. Transp. Res. Part C: Emerg. Technol. 38, 44–55 (2014)Jordán, J., Palanca, J., Del Val, E., Julian, V., Botti, V.: A multi-agent system for the dynamic emplacement of electric vehicle charging stations. Appl. Sci. 8(2), 313 (2018)Noori, H.: Realistic urban traffic simulation as vehicular Ad-hoc network (VANET) via Veins framework. In: 2012 12th Conference of Open Innovations Association (FRUCT), pp. 1–7. IEEE (2012)Palanca, J., Terrasa, A., Carrascosa, C., Julián, V.: SimFleet: a new transport fleet simulator based on MAS. In: De La Prieta, F., et al. (eds.) PAAMS 2019. CCIS, vol. 1047, pp. 257–264. Springer, Cham (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24299-2_22Skippon, S., Garwood, M.: Responses to battery electric vehicles: UK consumer attitudes and attributions of symbolic meaning following direct experience to reduce psychological distance. Transp. Res. Part D: Transp. Environ. 16(7), 525–531 (2011)del Val, E., Palanca, J., Rebollo, M.: U-tool: a urban-toolkit for enhancing city maps through citizens’ activity. In: Demazeau, Y., Ito, T., Bajo, J., Escalona, M.J. (eds.) PAAMS 2016. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 9662, pp. 243–246. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39324-7_2

Lifestyle, efficiency and limits: modelling transport energy and emissions using a socio-technical approach

It is well-known that societal energy consumption and pollutant emissions from transport are influenced not only by technical efficiency, mode choice and the carbon/pollutant content of energy but also by lifestyle choices and socio-cultural factors. However, only a few attempts have been made to integrate all of these insights into systems models of future transport energy demand or even scenario analysis. This paper addresses this gap in research and practice by presenting the development and use of quantitative scenarios using an integrated transport-energy-environment systems model to explore four contrasting futures for Scotland that compare transport-related ‘lifestyle’ changes and socio-cultural factors against a transition pathway focussing on transport electrification and the phasing out of conventionally fuelled vehicles using a socio-technical approach. We found that radical demand and supply strategies can have important synergies and trade-offs between reducing life cycle greenhouse gas and air quality emissions. Lifestyle change alone can have a comparable and earlier effect on transport carbon and air quality emissions than a transition to EVs with no lifestyle change. Yet, the detailed modelling of four contrasting futures suggests that both strategies have limits to meeting legislated carbon budgets, which may only be achieved with a combined strategy of radical change in travel patterns, mode and vehicle choice, vehicle occupancy and on-road driving behaviour with high electrification and phasing out of conventional petrol and diesel road vehicles. The newfound urgency of ‘cleaning up our act’ since the Paris Agreement and Dieselgate scandal suggests that we cannot just wait for the ‘technology fix’

To drive or not to drive? A qualitative comparison of car ownership and transport experiences in London and Singapore

Cities are responding to their growing transportation demands in different ways. We interviewed city dwellers in two cities, Singapore and London, with highly developed transport infrastructure to understand individual transport decisions and experiences in the context of two different city cultures that support distinct transport policies. Compared to London, cars and other private transport are valued and priced beyond the reach of most in Singapore. Seventeen adults from London and sixteen from Singapore were interviewed and presented with an overview of the other city\u27s transportation system to elicit their opinions on the differences and whether an alternate system could be applied in their city. Differences were observed in perceptions of, and beliefs concerning, private transport. In Singapore, cars served more than utilitarian purposes and were viewed as socially desirable status and success symbols. In London, car ownership and usage were viewed as a necessity due to a perceived lack of accessible, alternative transport.Both samples valued accessibility, affordability and comfort in relation to transport mode choice. There was also general acknowledgement and support for managing the car population and use in both cities, though how it should be done remains highly context-specific. Our findings suggest that public engagement and effective communication are important components when interventions and policies are introduced to better manage the car population and use in cities

Psychological theories of car use: An integrative review and conceptual framework

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordPersonal car use is increasing globally and is an important contributor to poor air quality and global greenhouse gas emissions. Although individuals have little direct control over some emission sources (e.g. heavy industry), they can modify their car use thereby reducing their own contribution. There have been many attempts to understand the psychology of personal car use and identify ways in which individuals might be encouraged to adopt more environmentally friendly travel modes. The aims of this study were (1) to review available psychological theories and models and their applications to understanding car use, (2) to assess the quality of empirical tests of relevant theories and (3) to develop an integrated conceptual overview of potentially modifiable antecedents that could inform future intervention design and further theoretical research. Fifteen psychological theories were identified from thirty-two unique studies but most theories were applied only once. Although two theories in particular (the Comprehensive Action Determination Model and Stage Model of Self-Regulated Behaviour Change) are both relatively comprehensive and have empirical support, our review suggests there are mechanisms of behavioural regulation relevant to car use that are not included in either theory. Integrating theories, we developed an integrative conceptual framework, referred to as the CAr USE (or CAUSE) framework of cognitive and emotional antecedents of car use. This framework is likely to be applicable to other ecologically-relevant behaviour patterns. Implications for research and practice are discussed.This work was undertaken as part of the first author's PhD funded by a Shell Global Solutions (UK) award to CA and supervised by CA, MW and SS. CA is partially funded by UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care of the South West Peninsula PenCLAHRC. MW is partially funded by NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Environmental Change and Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with Public Health England, and in collaboration with the University of Exeter, University College London, and the Met Office