Various factors influence users’ decisions to use either private or public transport. Research has investigated the factors influence commuters to ride an integrated public transport system. These factors have been categorized into three: psychological, operational and policy factors.
The theory of planned behaviour is key in understanding psychological factors. Psychological factors stem from the characteristics of the trip such as the reason or purpose of a trip, the timing and frequency of the trip and the demographic of users for example, their age, gender, or socio-economic status. Older people are less likely to choose public transport as their preferred mode of travel. Likewise, as users improve their socio-economic status, so does their willingness to use public transport decline. Women are also seen to be more likely to use public transport for reasons other than commuting such as shopping etc.
Other psychological factors include quality of services, connectivity, budgetary considerations, accessibility, and distances both from an access perspective as well as a commuting perspective. Interestingly, research has shown that users often demonstrate a psychological resistance to switching to public transport with private vehicles being preferred from their perceived instrumental function of comfort, freedom, and convenience; symbolic function of socio-economic status and affective function since users derive pleasure from driving.
Operational factors such as personal safety, reliability of connection, transfer time and information related to transfers are established as the most important.
Policy factors can be distinguished as “push” and “pull” measures. The aim of “push” measures is to reduce the attractiveness of private vehicles, while “pull” measures seek to increase the attractiveness of sustainable public transport. Policies are categorized into legal policies, information and educational policies, economic policies, and physical-change policies (e.g., infrastructure).
