Factors Motivating Sustainable Transport Behaviour - a Case of Gautrain Passengers

Abstract

This study blends insights from transport studies and psychology to compare how human transportation needs are met by public and private modes. It advocates for considering these needs in public transportation to promote sustainable urban behaviours. The researcher purposefully sampled and interviewed a subset of ten Gautrain passengers who also have access to private transport to understand their commuting experiences on both modes. While this sampling limited the generalisability of the findings, it was crucial for specifically understanding how to motivate private commuters to use public modes. The analysis revealed key differences and similarities in how transport needs are experienced, impacted, and understood by both modes. Notably, the need for competency was important in both public and private modes, suggesting it as perhaps the most strategic and delicate transport need to address, enhance, and maintain. The Gautrain was better able to meet this critical need by reducing the mental load of commuting, compared to driving, which was more likely to be stress-inducing. Reliability, due to inaccessibility, was a key area of deficiency for the Gautrain, which produced car dependency among middle-class commuters. The study concludes with possible solutions for how the Gautrain could better design and advertise itself with respect to transport needs and emphasises the impact that relational dynamics between transport needs can cause. Enhancing public transportation with human-centric considerations could motivate behavioural shifts towards it, and if this shift draws in otherwise car-dependent commuters, cities could become more sustainable.