Title: Modelling behavioural change for sustainable transport in Mauritius

Authors: Riad Sultan

Addresses: Engineering Building, Department of Economics and Statistics, Faculty of Social Studies and Humanities, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius

Abstract: Public bus transport is one sustainable option to mobility. However, there is a general negative attitude to its use in many countries. People's preferences and personality traits with respect to the public transport system differ and understanding these differences could be a key to implementing sustainable transport policies. This paper seeks to model the causal determinants of potential behavioural change when car-oriented users face an extended travel choice-set towards public bus transport. A questionnaire is administered to a sample of car-users in Mauritius - a small island state - and using the stated preference econometric method, it is observed that respondents' attitudes for modal change differ according to their socio-economic characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, family size, trip characteristics and geographical locations. The study concludes that improvements in the public transport system are not a panacea for behavioural change. A tailor-made strategy may be essential for changing behaviour towards sustainable mobility.

Keywords: sustainable transport; climate change; transport modal change; travel behaviour; public transport; bus transport; random utility theory; stated preference; logit regression; Mauritius; sustainability; modelling; behavioural change; travel choice; car users; sustainable mobility.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2015.069906

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2015 Vol.7 No.2, pp.188 - 204

Published online: 16 Jun 2015 *

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