Analyzing the Impact of Perceived Exertion on Walking for Short-Distance Trips: A Comparative Case Study of Malta and the Netherlands

Karyn Scerri*, Maria Attard, Dorine Duives, Oded Cats

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

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Abstract

Understanding people’s travel behavior is key to creating spaces that discourage car use, especially for short, walkable distances. The scope of this study is to understand better people’s propensity to use a car rather than walk for short-distance trips by focusing on the concept of perceived exertion (PE). A comparison is performed of two case study locations: Malta, a Euro-Mediterranean island with a high car dependency, and the Netherlands, a European country with a high active mode share of walking and cycling. Surveys were distributed to two university populations in each of the case study locations to analyze the parallels and variations in travel behavior and perceptions. Applying a mediation model analysis, the results show a partial mediation (Malta) and a full mediation (Netherlands) of PE in the relationship between car use frequency (CF) and distance threshold (DT), that is, the distance people are willing to walk rather than use a car. The mean DT for walking varied significantly between the two samples, resulting in 15.18 min (1.2 km or 0.7 mi) in the Netherlands and 17.99 min (1.4 km or 0.9 mi) in Malta, despite the comparatively larger active mode share in the Netherlands. Complementing this, the ordinal logistic models for the two countries indicate that those that perceive walking for short trips to be more effortful and those with a high CF are less inclined to walk long distances. Findings are compared with previous research, and policy-relevant suggestions based on these findings are provided.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)182-191
Number of pages10
JournalTransportation Research Record
Volume2677
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care
Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Keywords

  • behaviors
  • human factors
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • pedestrians
  • perceived exertion
  • walking

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