Implications of Behavioural Economics for the Transport Sector

Abstract

Neoclassical economics relies on the assumption that decision makers make rational, coherent and efficient choices, and this has also been the basis for transport planning and policy making in the recent decades. Lately, however, it is becoming more and more evident that individuals, and thus also the participants of transport processes, do not always act rationally. Moreover, the logic behind this irrationality seems to be consistent and the relevant behavioural patterns predicting the given activities may well be revealed. The theoretical background of this research field is called behavioural economics and is gaining an increasing impetus on governmental and policy levels, especially in the USA and the UK. Thus, it is reasonable to utilize it in the fields of studying and influencing transport and mobility in daily and work life, and to apply its merits as a means to reduce the adverse effects of climate change induced by transport operations.