Young Transport Users’ Perception of ICT Solutions Change

Abstract

The increasing urban population impacts heavily on city sustainability. One of the key sustainability problems in developing cities is an efficient transport system that can meet transport needs at the lowest social cost. The existing body of knowledge tells us that it could be achieved by shifting users to public transport (PT) and increasing occupancy rates of private modes. Against this background we argue that the key tool in ensuring this shift is offered by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), especially with the use of smartphones. We posit that young users (i.e., 20–24) can be attracted to public transport through ICTs most effectively. We apply a questionnaire-based field research in Sopot, Poland on a large group of young transport users (i.e., n = 567). What was observed are preferences towards ICT and its potential in encouraging the use of different transport modes. We also survey the differences between car owners and no-owners in relation to their preferences. Our results show that young users prefer ICT solutions but require specific ICT-oriented features. What is most interesting is that access to a private car does not need to be a limiting factor in using public transport if only quality ICT in public transport is offered.