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The COVID-19 pandemic has presented numerous, significant challenges for elderly in their daily life. In order to reach a deeper understanding of the feelings and thoughts of the elderly related to their possibilities to travel and engage in activities during the pandemic, this study takes a qualitative approach to exploring the views of the elderly themselves. The study focuses on experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of in-depth semi-structured interviews with elderly aged 70 and above, were conducted in June 2020. Applied Thematic Analysis (ATA) was applied, as a first stage, to investigate meaningful segments of data. In a second stage these identified segments were combined into a number of themes. This study reports the outcome of the ATA analysis. More specifically we report experiences, motivations and barriers for travel and activity participation, and discuss how these relate to the health and well-being of elderly, and vice versa. These findings highlight the strong need to develop a transport system that to a higher extent addresses the physical as well as the mental health of old people, with a particular focus on facilitating social interactions.

Collaboration between different stakeholders is argued to increase the efficiency and quality of the transition to sustainable mobility by supporting the diffusion of knowledge and fostering innovation. In this paper, we examine the important role of collaborative capacity as an institutionalized practice in public transport by providing a 10-year collaborative academic and non-academic partnership case study from Sweden, including interviews with key non-academics. Three different collaboration working-forms are identified, exemplified, and discussed: joint efforts, parallel projects, and collaboration loops. It is shown that collaboration and research communication can be a very valuable asset that benefits all parties if it is done systematically and responsibly. However, if the translation from research to managerial implications does not materialize, the benefits of collaboration may get lost. Building upon Commitment-Trust theory, it is shown that even if dialogue between academics and non-academics may be exposed to pressure and challenged in different ways, if carried out responsibly it builds trust and respect for different knowledge horizons, problem formulations, time logics, and working methods. Over time goodwill trust may evolve. Although collaboration loops may be the most promising method to aim to develop collaborative capacity, general learnings are that small projects are equally important, especially if clustered, to provide benefits to both non-academic and academic partners. It is concluded that developing a collaborative capacity among both non-academic and academic partners can create new collaborative practices, increasing the possibility of contributing to difficult societal challenges, such as achieving a sustainable future.

Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study explains sharing economy platform usage intention. Our results based on PLS-SEM estimations with survey data (N = 655) from the carpooling context show that sharing orientation (i.e. sharing usage instead of owning/buying), grassroots engagement (i.e. non-profit organisation driven by volunteers), and platform authenticity (i.e. loyalty to the original carpooling practice) are strong determinants of people's attitudes towards the carpooling platform, while trend orientation (e.g. the 'sharing economy' paradigm) is not significant. This implies that while digitalisation can optimise older practices (e.g. hitchhiking), online platforms facilitating contemporary sharing practices need to be embedded in the original sharing ethos and values to raise usage intention - even though the sharing economy has become mainstream.

This study demonstrates the value of integrating different analytical perspectives to identify significant factors and characterize their importance. Specifically, we combine three analytical methods – partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), necessary condition analysis (NCA), and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) – to create an expanded analytical process that enables informed decision-making. PLS-SEM identifies significant correlations between the predictor and outcome variables, NCA identifies critical bottlenecks required for a specific outcome, and fsQCA identifies configurations of conditions sufficient for producing a specific outcome. By applying this expanded analytical process to subjectively reported data on service quality and perceived accessibility, collected from five Nordic cities, we gain new insights into attracting an aging population to public transport. This study contributes to a better understanding of the nuances in the data, which is valuable for both research and practice.

In order to effectively manage transportation systems, and improve the attractiveness of public transport, public authorities, policymakers and researchers need a better understanding of the conditions necessary for improving attractiveness and those that can be considered sufficient. The purpose of this study is to expand the analytical toolbox of transportation research and introduce an analytical approach to identifying and distinguishing between the conditions that are necessary and sufficient for a desired outcome. Specifically, we suggest a complementary approach to combining partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) in order to examine which service quality attributes (functionality, information, security/safety, comfort, and cost) are sufficient, and what degree of satisfaction with these attributes is necessary for high overall travel satisfaction. The data consists of subjectively reported experiences from over 900 users of public transportation in four northern European countries. We find that, for high overall travel satisfaction, a minimum level of satisfaction with comfort (equal to 33.1%) is necessary. Furthermore, an increase in satisfaction with comfort, functionality/ reliability and cost is sufficient to improve overall travel satisfaction. This means that comfort is both a necessary and a sufficient condition, whereas functionality/reliability and cost are sufficient but non-necessary conditions in this context. We conclude that using this complementary approach can guide public transport managers and researchers in identifying important bottlenecks and establishing priorities for improving service quality, essential knowledge when developing effective strategies for attractive public transport services.

We organized this Special Issue on “The Environmental and Behavioral Consequences of Interventions for Sustainable Travel” with the aim of attracting interdisciplinary perspectives on the environmental and behavioral consequences of different interventions for sustainable travel [...]

This introductory paper to the Special Issue “Shared Mobility” aims (1) to present and differentiate the diversity of practices and services that constitute the shared mobility sector; (2) to emphasize the contribution of each published article; and (3) to identify knowledge gaps of knowledge and provide further research avenues. With the contribution from 29 authors affiliated to social sciences and transportation research institutions in seven countries (Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Greece, Belgium, Norway, and Australia), new understandings of the potential, drivers, barriers, and limitations of diverse shared mobility solutions for a more sustainable society are presented. The common message across the special issue is that the shared mobility sector is constantly evolving, while aiming to attain sustainability goals. Several papers have taken a psychological approach to explain the adoption of shared mobility practices (e.g., carsharing), yet these findings may be context-dependent, which future research should further investigate (e.g., differences between platform-based and self-service modes). We also call for researchers to pay attention to how traditional transit services can be combined with newer shared mobility services (e.g., micro-mobility), but also to informal public transport systems, as we identify these as important developing areas.

A cycling campaign was assessed that used three different nudging conditions to progress people’s stage of motivation to make travel behavioral changes. The results of three waves of survey data showed that this cycling campaign generally strengthened their stage of motivation to reduce car use and that this stage-change, in turn, reduced actual car use while increasing bike use. It was observed that an improvement of cognitive psychological mechanisms was positively related to people’s motivation to change. Although the effect of the campaign was stronger just after it had ended (Wave 2), a reduction in car use, an increase in bike use, and an increase in the stage of motivation were still found three months after the campaign had ended. This is important as it shows that effects favoring sustainable travel last beyond the timeframe of the intervention. We conclude that travel interventions should aim to integrate processes that emphasize cognitive psychological mechanisms and people’s motivation to change as these drive a sustainable behavioral change.

Social interaction with friends is an important contributor to children’s well-being, but how transport affects this is rarely studied. For two or more children (not of the same household) to have ...

Travel satisfaction has been linked to life satisfaction for adults, but no evidence exists currently for children's travel. Children's travel differs from adult's in numerous ways including limita ...

In this paper, we argue that the current focus on cycling must not neglect the need to improve public transport services for the large number of people who do not want to or are unable to cycle. An ...

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Previous findings have established that satisfaction with public transport service quality attributes (reliability/functionality, information, courtesy/simplicity, comfort, safety) relate to overall travel satisfaction. Recent studies propose that the importance of these attributes for travel satisfaction varies in different contexts and call for new approaches for enhancing the understanding of these relationships. We address this call by using a configurational perspective and applying fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), to explore how satisfaction with service quality attributes relate to high travel satisfaction. By analyzing user survey data before and after an intervention in public transport services in a Swedish city, we: 1) find that high travel satisfaction occurs in the interaction between service quality attributes; 2) identify different configurations of satisfaction with service quality attributes leading to high travel satisfaction; and 3) show how context alters overall travel satisfaction. We conclude that using a configurational approach is useful for understanding the complexity of travel satisfaction.

This research aims to revive the applicability of the exchange concept in the marketing domain. The authors draw on current exchange theories to show how members of an aquatic center receive relational, social support, and restorative resources from other center members and employees. They then empirically demonstrate that members’ loyalty to the center is fueled by the resources they receive from others in the center and that their experience in the center mediates the relationship between exchanged resources and member loyalty. This research reveals that service organizations may foster person-place bonds by providing customers with resources over and above goods and services. Customers appreciate resources that transform their well-being, such as social support and natural, restorative resources, and they demonstrate loyalty to places where they can obtain therapeutic resources. From a theoretical standpoint, this work shows support for the notion that the exchange concept is a foundational aspect of a general theory of marketing and explains how the exchange and value concepts in marketing are linked together.

How to drive modal shift is one of the primary issues in creating a sustainable society. By encouraging people to migrate from private car use to public transport, city planners can prepare for a super-aged society, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate negative externalities of private car use such as congestion, accidents, and noise. To achieve these goals, city planners are required to understand whether public transport usage can be increased by improving the service quality and what roles user satisfaction and loyalty play in the process. The relations between service quality, user satisfaction, loyalty, and user frequency have been studied for a long time. However, most of the studies are based on cross-sectional analysis. Cross-sectional analysis is less powerful in detecting causality as it does not show pre–post relations or lagged effects between variables. To investigate causal and non-simultaneous relations among quality, satisfaction, loyalty, and user frequency of public transport, we used data of the Benchmarking in European Service of Public Transport survey from 2001 to 2015 in four European cities, and applied vector auto regressive (VAR) analysis. The result shows that improvement of service quality has positive effects on user’s satisfaction, loyalty, and user frequency and that better satisfaction leads to higher loyalty and user frequency. More importantly, the result also shows that behavioral modification (change in user frequency) occurs with time lag while psychological modifications (changes in satisfaction and loyalty) occur immediately after changes in service quality. The findings suggest that city/transport planners ought to keep improving the service quality of public transport and monitoring the achievement from a long-term perspective.

Motorized transport has been around for over a century and has benefited people in various ways. As awareness has increased of the negative effects of car use, efforts to reduce pollution, congestion, noise, and accidents have increased. Some cities have taken drastic measures to reduce the number of cars. The starting point of this chapter is a balanced intervention ladder that includes interventions that can either increase or decrease autonomy. The authors introduce the “three-dimensional balanced intervention ladder” as a framework that can be used to describe autonomy relating to reduced car use, balancing this against perceived accessibility and wellbeing. The consequences of travel mode changes have been substantially explored; however, the consequences with respect to accessibility and wellbeing in life have only recently been recognized. By reviewing current research, they identify knowledge gaps in the implementation of balanced interventions and make recommendations regarding the continued development based on autonomy, perceived accessibility, and wellbeing.

In this chapter, we will introduce the concept of wellbeing and how it can be impacted by transport. Wellbeing is commonly defined as pertaining to the physical, psychological, and social domains. The literature on the interactions between transport and children’s health or wellbeing has primarily focused on physical measures such as physical activity and safety (injuries and death). However, transport also facilitates children’s social interaction and recently, it has also been shown that transport impacts their life satisfaction. The aim of this book is not only to consider the most obvious physical impacts of transport on children’s wellbeing, but also the psychological and social impacts. Many people think of transport as simply a means of getting somewhere, in order to access activities; in essence, this is probably the most fundamental role of transport. However, there are both intrinsic and extrinsic differences between the various transport options that will impact children’s wellbeing. Thus, transport can impact children’s wellbeing: by facilitating the movement of individuals between locations (access); through what occurs during trips (intrinsic); and as a result of how others travel (extrinsic). We end this introduction with a brief summary of the 19 chapters contributing to this book, divided up into sections focusing on pathways, mechanisms, solutions, examples, and the way forward.

Contemporary research linking children’s daily travel with the psychological and cognitive domains of wellbeing is emerging. In this chapter, we explore these two domains of wellbeing by reviewing the literature to see how the domains are operationalized, and what the empirical findings claim. One major aim is to reflect upon where research has taken us, and to identify what future research needs to focus on. Findings show that psychological measures include a large palette of measurements, for example, mood, wellbeing (sometimes operationalized as life satisfaction or happiness), travel satisfaction, independency, and confidence, which are all related to travel. Measures related to the cognitive domain can be categorized as either academic achievement or cognitive abilities, also identified as being affected by travel. Only three studies were identified as capturing the relationship between travel and both domains of wellbeing. One conclusion which we draw is that, although the findings are still somewhat anecdotal and in need of replication, researchers in this emerging field have indeed acknowledged the importance of examining the psychological and cognitive domains of wellbeing when it comes to studying children’s everyday travel. We also find that the studies reviewed have applied a plethora of methods and measures, making it somewhat difficult to generalize the findings. We therefore emphasize that we must constantly ask ourselves if we are measuring the relevant factors, and if we are measuring them in a valid way.

In order to constitute a realistic option to existing travel modes, carpooling needs to be able to offer adequate levels of accessibility. Insights into how carpooling services affect perceived accessibility up until now remain unexplored. In this study we explore carpooling experiences of 122 users in Sweden and examine a number of possible determinants of the perceived accessibility of carpooling. Results show that carpooling is not perceived by the users as particularly accessible with low levels across the sample. Moreover, multiple linear hierarchical regression analyses show that simplicity of travel, population density, years of education, and school and work-trips appear to affect perceptions of accessibility of carpooling, whereas travel time and cost appear not to. The final model explains a third of the variance in perceived accessibility of carpooling, thus nearly two thirds of the variation is still unaccounted for. Future research should explore further possible determinants of perceived accessibility of carpooling in order to explain, understand, and counteract the low levels of accessibility that appear to be linked to this specific travel mode.

Service quality in public transport is proposed as a key determinant of perceived accessibility, the ease to live the life one wants with the help of the transport system, as low service quality may be a barrier for use, decreasing the ease to participate in daily activities. The first aim was to validate the direct relationship between public transport quality and perceived accessibility. Secondly, we analyzed the mediating role of safety perceptions to better explain the link between service quality and perceived accessibility. Public transport travelers (n = 4944) from five northern European cities were surveyed. Results from PLS-SEM modeling show that service quality has a significant and direct relationship with perceived accessibility, especially regarding functionality. An indirect relationship through travel safety perceptions was also observed, highlighting information and comfort as main drivers. High car use, low public transport use, increasing age, and being a woman were also associated with greater perceived accessibility. City comparisons yielded a number of significant differences. Our results contribute to the research literature by highlighting the importance of service quality in public transport for perceptions of accessibility in daily travel. In particular, we argue that functionality is the core attribute to focus on, and that attributes related to travel safety perceptions should be carefully considered when planning for sustainable transport.

This book adopts a cross-disciplinary approach on the relationships between transport and children’s wellbeing by bringing together a series of works by authors from a variety of disciplinary orientations (e.g., urban planning, geography, psychology, transport engineering, and public health). The book’s breadth and diversity convey an inclusive view of the complex nature of transport and children’s wellbeing. This closing chapter provides a brief overview of and summarizes some important evidence in this field. We point to gaps in knowledge and diagnose difficulties that will provide a roadmap for future research and practice.

Mobility as a service (MaaS), in this case study, involves the integration of different travel modes into a mutual service that handles bookings and payments for individual trips. In this chapter, the authors discuss how a public transport authority has developed a MaaS for rural areas by integrating a public transport service with carpooling. The project's development, the platform's functionality, ideas for future development, and experiences of the service are analyzed from both a management and a user perspective. One overall conclusion reached is that public transport may very well develop and offer MaaS; however, there are a number of barriers to overcome concerning the legal aspects, changed travel behaviors, and density.

To understand children’s experiences of their daily travel, and the consequences of these experiences, it is essential that we directly address children. The Satisfaction with Travel Scale (STS) is a self-report instrument consisting of nine items divided into three subscales – two reflecting affective travel experiences and one reflecting cognitive travel experiences. The present study has two aims: (i) to examine the psychometric properties of a child version of the STS (referred to as the STS-C), and (ii) to test a potentially positive relationship between travel satisfaction and life satisfaction among children, something which has been found among adults. Three hundred and forty-five children completed the STS-C, life satisfaction scales, and sociodemographic variables. Analyses using Partial Least Square structural equation modelling revealed that the STS-C was internally reliable, had a sound construct validity, and confirmed a one-factor second-order measurement model with three first-order constructs (subscales). Furthermore, children’s satisfaction with school travel was also significantly related to their life satisfaction as measured by their satisfaction with: themselves, school experiences, friendships, family, and living environment. The relationship between travel satisfaction and life satisfaction varied between modes, whereby it was stronger among those who traveled by active modes than those who traveled by school bus or car. Younger children and boys were more satisfied with their travel to school, something which also had an indirect effect on their life satisfaction.

Understanding children’s travel is an important part of drawing a complete picture of over-all well-being in society. Children’s active travel to school, independent travel, transport and physical ...

Incidental social interactions such as seeing a known person while travelling are theorized to contribute to community connections and social capital. It is argued in such work that walking may be a critical factor, but the frequency of such interactions is generally unknown. For children, these community connections may increase independent travel and contribute to their well-being. Previous research out of Japan found that walking was indeed more likely to result in children seeing people in general and seeing a known person. However, it is not clear whether that is a culturally anecdotal finding, or whether similar findings would occur in different cultural and transportation contexts. Reasons why it may be anecdotal include: in most cases, all elementary school children walk to school in Japan; many trips occur at a local level and are conducted by non-motorized modes in Japan; greeting others (aisatsu) is a cultural value in Japan. This study examines whether one's transport mode relates to having incidental social interaction during their trips for children aged 10–11 in Canada (177), Japan (178), and Sweden (144). Further to previous work, the research carried out here asked the children what type of interaction occurred (spoke, waved, no interaction, or other) which would relate to building or maintaining community connections. The findings demonstrate that the results are internationally applicable and that most incidental social interactions result in a verbal communication in all three countries.

The household plays an important role in behavior change in many lifestyle areas. Various intervention programshave been implemented in order to change travel behavior and it is well known that tra ...

Carpooling can be viewed as a simple intervention to reduce congestion, environmental problems, and land use for parking spaces. The present study assembled 18 studies on carpooling from all over the world that were published during the last five years (2014–2018) for a meta-analysis. By calculating effect sizes of 20 different factors, the study aimed to understand user characteristics, motives, and barriers to carpooling, and to gain insights about carpool interventions. Our results indicate that carpooling is very weakly related to socio-demographic variables, and that psychological factors are becoming more important, including monetary and time benefits, reducing congestion, and environmental concerns. Policy-makers can increase carpooling by offering cheaper parking or special parking spaces for carpoolers and introducing high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Not surprisingly, fuel prices influence mode choice. The overall findings support previous results, but we found judgmental factors becoming more important for the choice to carpool. We conclude that carpooling services still fail to include many potential users and to serve users adequately. The challenge of meeting the needs of all users requires new approaches to designing carpool concepts, systems, and encounters.

Perceived accessibility, defined as “how easy it is to live a satisfactory life using the transport system”, is proposed to be a complementary measure to conventional, objective measures of accessibility. Aiming at capturing the subjective element of accessibility, as opposed to conventional accessibility that is based on the same objective attributes for large areas or groups of people, the authors developed and tested a measure of perceived accessibility; the four items self-reported Perceived Accessibility Scale (PAC). In study 1, 237 users of public transport rated PAC. The results showed that PAC is a reliable measure. The PAC was further validated and proved reliable in two waves (study 2) in altered conditions (Wave 1, N = 246, Wave 2, N = 259). Based on this, an overall PAC index was constructed. PAC can be used to determine the traveler's (or possible travelers) opinion of accessibility in transport planning or accessibility-mapping, or for directing interventions aimed at improving accessibility to where they are best needed according to the individuals. Further development of the PAC and its potential within transport research and planning, and its future validation is discussed.

We investigate whether travel mode, travel time, and travel activities influence children’s satisfaction with their travel to school, their current mood, and their cognitive performance after arriv ...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss how service, as an interdisciplinary area of research, can increase its potential for transdisciplinary contributions from the perspective of what signifies intra-, multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary research. Design/methodology/approach – The essay first discusses common perspectives on the service concept before presenting a review on what signifies intra-, multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary research. The emerging theoretical framework is followed by a discussion on the challenges and opportunities for service research in making interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary theoretical contributions. Findings – The research provides a typological framework for understanding intra-, multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary service research and, implications related to how service research contributions can become increasingly inter- and transdisciplinary. Originality/value – The paper contributes to widening the scope of service research by focussing on how the domain can overcome hurdles and increase its potential for making theoretical contributions that are applicable across and beyond established research disciplines.

Introduction The aim of the present study was to examine differences in public transport use, quality perceptions, and travel satisfaction and their relation to life satisfaction across five generations. Methods Self-report questionnaires (online or by phone) were collected from 3257 respondents (aged 16–90) with varying degree of public transport use, across five cities in northern Europe (Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, Bergen). The data were analyzed in three steps: (i) explorative using Kruskal-Wallis Anovas, (ii) conceptual model testing using PLS-SEM, and (iii) analyses of generational differences regarding public transport quality dimensions, travel satisfaction and life satisfaction through Analyses of variance. Results In line with our hypothesis and previous research, we find that satisfaction with travel had a positive relationship with life satisfaction, showing once again the importance of acknowledging people's travel satisfaction. Levels of satisfaction linearly increased with generation, but the effect of travel on life satisfaction did not, thus indicating that travel satisfaction is equally important to all. Security/safety was furthermore an important quality attribute directly related to both satisfaction with travel and to life satisfaction. We observed, using multigroup analyses, that the youngest generations are very similar with respect to the importance of quality attributes. People in these generations also travel frequently and have active lifestyles, and are hence very dependent on the transport system. Conclusions It is concluded that, we need to improve travel experiences and emphasize secure and safe travel, especially for the young, as this is related to their life satisfaction.

This article introduces the concept of ‘therapeutic servicescapes’ to the retailing and services discipline. In the health literature, therapeutic landscapes emerge when physical and social conditions in a geographically bounded space combine to produce an atmosphere that is conducive to human well-being. Traditionally, therapeutic landscapes have been associated with natural and leisure settings, such as parks, green spaces, and beaches. This work breaks new ground in the marketing domain by linking therapeutic landscapes to commercial retail establishments. This study empirically demonstrates the extent to which physical and social conditions may combine in a customer-centric grocery store to positively enhance customers' well-being and promote feelings of attachment to the establishment. Furthermore, this study reveals that customers' future behavioral intention are driven by the store's impact on their well-being and their desire to maintain ‘place attachment.’ From a managerial perspective, this work recommends that retail and consumer service organizations facing online competition focus on creating architectural and human resource conditions that promote consumer well-being and place attachment.

Introduction: Travel behavior research has only started to address how travel affects emotional wellbeing. The development of measurement methods is an important goal of this research.Methods: A re ...

The purpose of this Special Issue is to introduce and demonstrate the importance of daily travel in elderly people’s lives [...]

People are living longer than they did previously, and the proportion of older people is increasing worldwide. This rapid development will have implications for the transport system, in general, and for travel behavior and accessibility to daily activities, in particular. In recent years, both research and politics have drawn the attention of the public to issues affecting the opportunities of the elderly to participate in everyday life. The debate has so far mostly focused on health issues, with limited work having been done on the ability of the elderly to live the lives they want to considering how they travel. With this view, a theoretical model, grounded in a model of travel and subjective wellbeing was developed to explore the role of perceived accessibility in satisfaction with travel and life satisfaction. Empirical data were collected from a sample of 2950 respondents (aged 60&ndash, 92) from five cities in Northern Europe (Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, Bergen) and analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings confirmed the link between perceived accessibility, travel satisfaction, and life satisfaction. The findings also showed the role of sociodemographic and travel attributes in perceived accessibility and satisfaction with travel, as well as the moderating effects of different age groups. We conclude that this moderating role played by age clearly indicates that we should not treat the elderly as a homogenous group in research and transport planning.

In this chapter, we first address two questions: why are automobiles purchased, and why are automobiles, after being purchased, used to such a large extent? We argue that instrumental and economic ...