Transport disruptions as opportunities for behaviour change: a qualitative evaluation of UK policy and practice

Journal article

Ambitious national targets for reducing transport emissions require effective policies that disturb entrenched unsustainable travel behaviours, in particular car use. One approach policymakers can adopt is to leverage transport environment disruptions as opportunities to destabilise habits and facilitate shifts in travel behaviour. A framework consisting of four key dimensions of disruptions (plannedness, scale, frequency, and duration) is presented. The current study investigates whether UK transport policymakers and practitioners currently recognise opportunities in transport environment disruptions across these dimensions, and the factors facilitating or preventing this approach. Through qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 23 transport practitioners from various UK transport organisations and key strategic documents, the findings reveal that while practitioners acknowledge the potential of disruptions in the transport environment to foster behavioural shifts to some extent, general approaches are limited in their conceptualisations of disruptions. Recommendations emphasise the need for comprehensive strategies that leverage disruptions driven by bold political leadership to overcome car dependency and achieve sustainable transport goals.

Authors: McGuicken, T; Whitmarsh, L; Hampton, S

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Case Studies on Transport Policy
• Volume: 19
• Article number: 101386
• Publication date: 2025-02-04
• Acceptance date: 2025-01-30
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cstp.2025.101386
• EISSN: 2213-6258
• ISSN: 2213-624X
• Language: English
• Keywords: sustainable transport policy; disruptions; transport environment; habits; moments of change