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Habitual or reasoned? Using the theory of planned behavior,
technology acceptance model, and habit to examine switching
intentions toward public transit
Ching-Fu Chen
, Wei-Hsiang Chao
Department of Transportation & Communication Management Science, National Cheng Kung University, 1 University Rd., Tainan 701, Taiwan
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 1 August 2009
Received in revised form 18 August 2010
Accepted 11 November 2010
Keywords:
Mode switching intentions
TPB
TAM
Habit
Public transit
a b s t r a c t
How to reduce private vehicle use and to encourage public transit have always been the
fundamental policy goals of transportation authorities. Whether mode choice behaviors
are reasoned action or habit has also been debated, resulting in mixed arguments. This
study proposes an integrated model combining the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the
technology acceptance model (TAM), and habit to examine the switching intentions
toward public transit by private vehicle users (both car and motorcycle users). The results
reveal that through a comparison with the TPB variables, the habitual behavior of private
vehicle use hinders an individuals intention to switch from a car or motorcycle to public
transit. Furthermore, motorcycle commuters are more likely than car commuters to resist
their habitual mode use behavior in switching to public transit through their reasoned
evaluation process. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
In the context of urban transport, governments generally seek to implement policies aimed at reducing car use and to
promote more environmental friendly modes, such as public transport (Domarchi, Tudela, & Gonzalez, 2008). Unfortunately,
these policies usually fail, or have unsatisfying results. Travel mode choice is determined by several factors, such as contex-
tual factors (e.g., available travel modes environment), an individuals abilities and constraints (e.g., car ownership), and var-
ious psychological factors (e.g., evaluations and motives) (Thogersen & Moller, 2008). To explore the reasons behind the
unsatisfactory results of such policies, past studies on modal choice adopt two main approaches: utility-maximizing of
microeconomic theory and psychological behavior theory. Although the traditional studies based on the microeconomic
viewpoint and frequently using discrete choice models have given useful insights (Domarchi et al., 2008), the factors that
inuence an individuals decision-making in this area, especially the psychological ones, still remain relatively unclear.
1.1. TPB and habit
In the literature that utilizes psychological behavior theory in modal choice research, the theory of planned behavior (TPB,
Ajzen, 1985) has been widely used in predicting and explaining intended behavior across a variety of disciplines. The main
components of the TPB are a persons own attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intentions, and behav-
ior. More specically, the TPB is based on the proposition that an individuals behavior is a direct function of behavioral
1369-8478/$ - see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.trf.2010.11.006