Analysing the willingness of employees to shift towards sustainable commuting

Abstract

In the last few decades Maltese society has become too dependent on passenger vehicles with low occupancy rates, which has led to Incremental Increase In traffic congestion, especially during the morning peak hour. During this period, trips are mainly taken for work or school purposes. However, school transportation already offers an organised transport system, while the working sector does not, except for a few companies that provide this system voluntarily. Therefore, this study evaluated the current commuting patterns of office based employees, as in general they do not require Lransporlalion during Lheir working hours, and analysed their willingness to shift towards more sustainable commuting habits. Additionally, a representative of their organisation was interviewed to obtain the perspective of the organisation. Both the participating organisations and their employees seemed inclined to contribute towards more sustainable commuting practices, however certain conditions were stated that might restrict an instant change. Nonetheless, when taking into consideration the 83,000 employees working in an office environment in Malta a 23% modal shift would result in an approximate daily reduction of 19,000 commuting trips by passenger vehicles each way; from home to the workplace and vice versa