Can multimodal trip planning alter the travelers' mobility behavior? A cross-European study

The availability of multimodal information is expected to shift travelers to environmentally-friendly transport modes. A questionnaire study was conducted in three European regions, Catalonia (Spain), Berlin (Germany) and Trikala (Greece), among 95 travelers who were asked to use a specific multimodal trip planner in their everyday life. The travelers' attitudes towards the planner were positive and they expected it to be beneficial, offering them more possibilities to find the optimum route, enhancing their comfort and reducing their stress while travelling. Some decrease in the frequency of use of private car and increase in the frequency of use of public transport and walking before and while using the planner were found in two of the regions. Users did not expect a change in the number of journeys done by private car or public transport due to the usage of the planner. Although the findings have to be further verified, the present study indicates that the availability of information about environmentally-friendly transport modes via a multimodal trip planner, is rather not enough to achieve a shift of travelers to such modes. The adequate planning and integration of green transport services within a sustainable urban mobility plan and a supporting policy framework are also needed to achieve the greening of urban and interurban transport.