Blue Sky Thinking
Transport is not often known for creating dramatic headlines. Normally we can't boast about exciting tales of adventure and action but instead a quiet admiration for well designed travel plans, integrated transport models, or (in the CTP's case) a well-reasoned social experiment.
So it's quite a surprise when a volcanic eruption generates a tower of ash 4 kilometres high, sending shockwaves around the world of transport.
On the 14th of April the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, expelled thousands of tonnes of ash into the air, effectively grounding all flights across northern Europe amidst safety concerns. After enjoying blue skies free of contrails for 6 days, planes are flying again. We can now look at how this event will affect people's travel in the future. Will the delays and queues make trains and ferries a more attractive concept for travel? Or is this just an accepted risk? In February we wrote about how a dramatic event can cause people to try alternative means of travel, and disrupt people's habits. Time will tell to see if other travel modes become more popular in the coming months.
But there may be another barrier to new behaviour that even volcanoes might struggle to change: some people are simply not aware of the travel alternatives around them. A plane may be the only choice for long-haul trips, but it's for the smaller trips to the airport and around our towns and cities that people develop blind spots. Despite the very best efforts of councils and public transport operators to show alternatives – sometimes the message just doesn't ‘stick'.
Verplanken & Aarts (1999) described how people with strong travel habits hold "an enduring cognitive orientation"; in other words - a stubborn mind set. When given information on modes that weren't their preference, people ignore or dismiss evidence that challenged their view. Unfortunately, they did however pick up and remember information that supported their beliefs.
So how do we counteract this? Well we may need to take a lesson from the car industry, and expand upon what alternate means can offer. Kenyon & Lyons (2003) tested different types of information that promoted alternative travel modes other than the car. They found that many people were unaware of alternatives, but were not really swayed by traditional, economic benefits. What did make an interesting and memorable argument was information on comfort and convenience. Just as car adverts portray driving as a comfortable & enjoyable experience, the same can be applied to non-car modes.
With all the intricacies of human behaviour, the little changes can make all the difference. By recognising and acting on the problems we come across, our efforts can make that change. It's not always essential for a ground shaking event to make a difference. But then again, in one of life's little ironies, it took a pillar of smoke to clear the skies of Britain.
If you'd like to find out more about how the Centre for Transport and Psychology can help with attitude and behaviour change programs, you can get in touch with us at CTP@jmp.co.uk, or visit our website www.vctp.org for more information.
One of our CTP Members, Professor Alan Tapp, will be delivering a keynote speech at the Bristol Social Marketing Centre on Thursday 27th May. If you would like more information, you can follow the link here or contact the Centre at bsm@uwe.ac.uk
References:
Verplanken, B., & Aarts, H. (1999). Habit, attitude, and planned behaviour: Is habit an empty construct or an interesting case of automaticity? European Review of Social Psychology, 10, 101-134.
Kenyon, S. and Lyons, G. (2003). The Value of Integrated Multimodal Information and its Potential Contribution to Modal Change. Transportation Research Part F - Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 6(1), 1-21.
Blue Sky Thinking