The role of instrumental and internal socio-psychological drivers in promoting positive attitude and intention toward urban sustainable mobility

The promotion of sustainable transport is one of the topics of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030 and is considered pivotal for the reduction of urban pollution, particularly related to private car use. In this regard, socio-psychological dimensions that have been shown to play a role in transport choices include attitudes, social norms, values, motivations, and place identity. This study aims to analyse the effect of injunctive and descriptive norms, biospheric values, instrumental motives, and city identity, on attitude and intention to use more sustainable transportation modes. Participants were 240 residents in the metropolitan area of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) – randomly assigned to three experimental social norm conditions (injunctive vs. descriptive vs. no norm) – who filled in a questionnaire including the measures of the analyzed dimensions. Results substantially confirmed the influence of injunctive and descriptive norms – either directly or through the attitude – on the intention to use sustainable transport. Instrumental motives, such as money and time saving, and health concern, emerged as directly related to such intention, whereas the impact on them of biospheric values and city identity is mediated by attitude.