When Transport Geography Meets Social Psychology: Toward a Conceptual Model of Travel Behaviour

Abstract

Many studies model the effects of the built environment on travel behaviour. Usually, results are controlled for socio‐economic differences and sometimes socio‐psychological differences among respondents. However, these studies do not mention why after all a relationship should exist between travel behaviour and spatial, socio‐economic and personality characteristics. Answering this query involves combining and linking theories stemming from transport geography (e.g. time geography, activity‐based approach) and social psychology (e.g. Theory of Planned Behaviour, Theory of Repeated Behaviour). Using key‐variables from these theories, this paper aims to develop a conceptual model for travel behaviour. Comparable to customary theories in transport geography, this conceptual model considers travel behaviour as derived from locational behaviour and activity behaviour. But the conceptual model adds concepts such as ‘lifestyle’, ‘perceptions’, ‘attitudes’ and ‘preferences’ which indirectly influence travel behaviour.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers of this paper for their valuable comments.