Known as hard policy approaches, they seek to remodel transportation systems through technological and infrastructure development ( Novaco, 2001 Brög et al., 2004 Hunecke et al., 2007 Gehlert et al., 2013). Technical and socio-structural approaches aim to mitigate GHGs by increasing the efficiency of transport systems.
Such solutions tend to focus on either technical and socio-structural changes or psychosocial interventions. More sustainable mobility practices would mean “to reduce the need to travel (less trips), to encourage modal shift, to reduce trip lengths and to encourage greater efficiency in the transport system” ( Banister, 2008, p. 75). Consequently, mitigating environmental, health, and social risks caused by mobility practices remain a crucial challenge ( Bandura, 2008 Geerken et al., 2009 Guadagno, 2016 Boas, 2017 Yamamoto et al., 2018). We explore these pathways and their consequences for sustainable mobility in relation to daily commuter agency, motivations, and past experiences.ĭespite decades of innovations and interventions, the transport sector still accounts for approximately one-sixth of greenhouse gas (GHG) and CO 2 emissions ( IPCC, 2007, 2014). Based on our analyses, we identified three pathways that describe the mobility practices of Metrorail users, each with its own purpose and function. Drawing on Albert Bandura’s theory of personal agency and the model of triadic reciprocal causation, we interviewed 38 commuters (mean age 33 years, SD 11, 50% women/men) and analyzed the data using hermeneutic content analysis and multidimensional scaling. In this study, we examine mobility motivations and practices as part of a complex interplay between psychosocial and socio-structural dimensions within the mobility infrastructure of Metrorail in the Western Cape.
Most studies on sustainable mobility focus on technological, socio-structural, or psychosocial influences while neglecting individual motivations and practices.