Changing behaviour: a look at mobility in Japan

Dr. Taniguchi researches the application of psychological strategies in transportation policies at the University of Tsukuba, the heart of Tsukuba Science City, an international centre of science and technology 60 kilometres northeast of Tokyo.

How did you get into mobility management?

"As an assistant professor of risk engineering at the University of Tsukuba, my objective is to apply psychological strategies to social dilemmas around urban and transportation policy. My research interests include the promotion of public transport, educational programmes to develop the moral sense of school children, and risk communication.

"In 1999, I was introduced to a mobility management project called 'Travel Blending Program' that was running in Adelaide, Australia. Travel blending involves in-depth analysis of people’s travel behaviour to come up with suggestions on how behaviour could be modified. It’s basically a way to help people reduce the use of the car by blending their travel choices over time. I was asked to study the development of travel blending in Japan, which is how I got into mobility management."

How big of an issue is sustainable mobility in Japan?

"In Japan, global warming is a very big issue, and there is a lot of information about eco-friendly lifestyles, but many people are not aware of the relationship between mobility and the environment.

"In my opinion, this is because changing travel behaviour is more difficult than reducing the use of electricity and water and minimising waste. And many cities suffer from a lack of funding for efficient public transport systems to combat car use."

What kind of government support/infrastructure is in place for sustainable mobility?

"The Government provides a lot of funding for mobility management schemes, such as workplace travel plans, public transport promotion, and town development. It also financially supports JCOMM, the Japanese conference on mobility management.

"In the Japanese context, there is a difference between mobility management and travel demand management (TDM). Measures like park and ride, toll charges, and car restrictions are referred to as TDM, while communication-based transportation measures – like travel feedback programmes that attempt to induce voluntary changes in behaviour in car users – are referred to as mobility management, and this is the area in which I am involved."

Looking ahead, how will sustainable mobility develop in Japan, and how does your work at the University support this development?

"There are three types of mobility management locations in Japan: residential, workplace, and school. The Government is making a strong effort to implement workplace mobility management. In my job, I am focusing on public transport promotion, and developing a program to increase awareness and change behaviour in school children.

"Because Japan has a relatively short history of communication-based travel programmes, I look to European projects for examples of successful campaigns – campaigns like the 'No ridiculous car trips' project implemented in Malmö, Sweden.

"Campaigns like this will have an increasing part to play in mobility management strategy. We need to change public attitudes and influence behaviour if we’re going to see a reduction in car use in Japan. We need to effect change in all areas of the population, feeding down from assembly members, Government members and public transport companies, to all other companies and citizens in general."

Can you give us an example of the kind of projects you are involved with?

"One recent mobility management research project we carried out was named 'Mobility Management through Communication for New Residents.' Because it has been shown that habit is a critical factor [that] prevent[s] people from changing from cars to other modes of transport, we expected that communicative measures targeting those not accustomed to using a car would be more effective than communication directed at habitual car users. This implies that communication should be more successful in altering the behaviour of newly-arrived residents, who have not yet built transport habits.

"We conducted identical experiments in two Japanese cities: Ryugasaki and Takasaki. In both experiments, newly arrived residents visiting the city office to report moving in were randomly assigned to either experimental or control groups. Those in the experimental group received questionnaires and a public transport information package. Those in the control group received only the questionnaires.

"In Ryugasaki, subsequent bus use was much higher – 818.7 per cent – in the experimental group than in the control group, as was train use, at 231.8 per cent. In Takasaki, subsequent bus use in the experimental group was approximately triple that of the control group, and train use approximately double.

"These results demonstrate that distributing an information kit about public transportation to new residents in an area is a highly effective mobility management measure that can promote the use of public transit and reduce car use."