Abstract
Travel, though restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic, is inevitable for communities to survive. The risk of getting infected, fear of social gatherings, strict protocols on physical distancing and inaccessibility of basic commodities, very peculiar set of environments and structures is shaping the travel behavior of every individual. Using the quantitative research method, the study assesses the motility and sustainable travel behavior of the residents of Lipa City in reference to the concept of motility - mobility potential - as an analytical framework investigating the associations between three motility dimensions of attitudes, skills and access and individuals’ mode choice in terms of using car, walking, and public transport for their daily trips. The study reveals that during the pandemic, all motility dimensions are predictor variables of sustainable travel behavior with cognitive appreciation as the strongest predictor while skills and competencies as the least. The public vehicle travelers have the most sustainable travel behavior while the majority of the respondents who are preferred private vehicle users exemplify the least sustainable behavior. These findings suggest the travelers act responsibly while traveling depending on their interpretation and understanding of their situation, needs and motives parallel to their skills appropriate in using each travel mode. Providing more useful information about the use of public transport, integration of a holistic approach involving the design of mobility policies and development of quality networks for alternative modes of transport will encourage the public to choose environmentally friendly travel with a goal of creating sustainable behavioral changes among the residents.
Presenters
Andrenelyn VaronaTourism Management Program Chair / Assistant Professor, College of International Hospitality and Tourism Management, De La Salle Lipa, Batangas, Philippines
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL BEHAVIOR, MOTILITY FRAMEWORK, MOBILITY POTENTIALS
