augment the analysis undertaken for the full sample has proven productive. The use of post hoc categories signifi- cantly increases the ability to identify groups on the basis of the commonality of their attitudes and beliefs. And, as has been seen in this chapter, the TPB provides a structure with which to organize a wide variety of attitudes and beliefs in a consistent, interpretable format. A brief review of the con- clusions of two other recent segmentation studies suggests some consistency of findings, while identifying some areas for further research.
Given the complexity of the study design, (designed to track changes between the two applications of the TPB), only four market segments were selected for the analysis. The clus- tering process assigned 43% of the full sample to the two groups most likely to increase use of transit and walking. Most studies reviewed tended to create five or more segments in this process.
The use of market segmentation in the analysis of increase in transit share is examined inTCRP Report 36: A Handbook—
Four Segments to Change in Modal Behavior Transit to Downtown Regional Transit Smart Card Com- munity Shuttle Community Door to Door Smart Phone Car Sharing
Transit Loyalists Highest Rank 3 2 4 6 5 Lowest
Environmental
Mode Changers Highest Rank 2 3 4 5 6 Lowest
Happy Drivers 2 Highest Rank 3 4 5 6 Lowest
Angry Negatives
2 3 Highest
Rank 4 5 6 Lowest
Product’s Rank
(Full Sample) 1 (Highest) 2 3 4 5 6 7 (Lowest)
Bolded cells highlight where any segment has a ranking different from the sample average
Using Market Segmentation to Increase Transit Ridership(49). That study concluded with the creation of five workable mar- ket segments for potential change of modal behavior. They concluded that two segments were positive, and that three were less promising. Their analysis resulted in 37% of the sam- ple population being assigned to the two positive groups and 63% being assigned to the negative groups. Note that the sur- veys in TCRP Report 36 were of a randomized variety in specific transit districts, so the percentages of positive groups is more reflective of the broader population in a transit district than this study, which is purposely enriched with transit users. Although a detailed comparison of the groups is not sup- portable because of the difference in methods used, some “high level” observations can be made.
TCRP Report 36found that one positive group was dis- proportionately male and had the greatest use of transit in their lives. They were young, unmarried, and dispropor- tionately students. This group bears a clear resemblance to our Transit Loyalists. Among their salient attributes were the following:
• They are the most likely segment to find the idea of using transit appealing—notably for commute travel.
• They see the least gaps between what is important in the mode choice decision and transit’s ability to deliver. • They have transit service available from where they live to
where they work or go to school. They are the most likely to work in a central city or downtown area.
• They place low value on security, sense of belonging, and being well respected.
• They are mostly single; if married, their spouses often work.
• They moved or changed jobs in the past several years. (49, p. 129)
In all of these anecdotal areas, the Report 36transit-oriented group was similar to the this project’s Transit Loyalists.
TCRP Report 36 found that the second most positive group for mode change was disproportionately female, similar to the Environmental Mode Changers. The group was analyzed in terms of the higher standards they want sat- isfied before proceeding with a positive change of modal be- havior. Report 36describes their second positive group as follows:
• They feel transit is high risk and are unsure of transit’s abil- ity to perform as they require.
• While not particularly demanding in terms of benefits they seek in the mode choice decision, they see gaps in transit’s ability to perform as required.
• If they are married, they are the most likely segment to have children at home. (49,p. 128)
On other issues, comparability is more difficult, as that study went into psychographic issues concerning optimism and outlook on life not emphasized in the present study. The report described three other groups with varying reasons for their car dependency.
Another chance to cross check the logic of our results of the segmentation comes in the paper, “‘Complacent Car Addicts’ or ‘Aspiring Environmentalists’? Identifying Travel Behaviour Segments Using Attitude Theory,” by Jillian Anable, which undertook a market segmentation procedure for change in modal behavior based on the con- struct of the TPB, as expanded (52).In her segmentation, she found some 25% of the sample could be described as the most likely to use alternative modes to visit historic sites; this was a combination of transit-dependent persons (no cars) and environmental activists with cars. At the other end of the spectrum, two strongly negative groups were identified, one of which seems directly hostile, while the other simply sees no reason to change. In the middle, roughly one-third of the sample is assigned to a group char- acterized by high commitment to environmental change, but holding the belief that they cannot pull it off. Anable writes, “This suggests that although they could be willing to reduce car use for altruistic motives and to avoid con- gestion, they are held back by weak perceptions of be- havioral control.” Of the market segments reviewed in this research, her group is most similar to the Conflicted/ Contented group, one of the five segments described in the discussion in Chapter 7 concerning propensity to change neighborhoods.
In sum, it was found that the combination of market segmentation methods and the overarching construct of the TPB could play a significant role in the analysis of trans- portation issues, such as the propensity to increase walking and transit.
Anable summed up her conclusions on this combination in this way:
Altogether, the possibility of explaining travel behaviour by attitudinal factors, with the use of market segmentation was confirmed. Segmentation provided a way of finding naturally occurring coherent and meaningful groups and left precon- ceptions aside. More specifically, the utilisation of an expanded version of an established theory of behaviour (TPB) has pro- vided a practical, theoretical and useful basis to explain the mode choice decision. . . .
Interpretable in the context of the TPB, the attitudinal segments help us to identify the factors underlying a decision to perform or not to perform a given behaviour. They essentially provide an indication of how hard people are willing to try to
leave the car at home for day trip travel and under what circum- stances. Most significantly, each of the six groups identified rep- resented a unique combination of each type of belief, proving that different groups need to be served in different ways to opti- mize the chance of realising changes in behaviour. The evidence clearly shows that the same behaviour can take place for different reasonsand that the same attitudes (e.g. positive attitudes to the environment) can lead to different behaviour (e.g. a reduction or no reduction in car use). (52)