Choice of Travel Mode in the Theory of Planned Behavior: The Roles of Past Behavior, Habit, and Reasoned Action

Abstract Relying on the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991), a longitudinal study investigated the effects of an intervention-introduction of a prepaid bus ticket-on increased bus use among college students. In this context, the logic of the proposition that past behavior is the best predictor of later behavior was also examined. The intervention was found to influence attitudes toward bus use, subjective norms, and perceptions of behavioral control and, consistent with the theory, to affect intentions and behavior in the desired direction. Furthermore, the theory afforded accurate prediction of intention and behavior both before and after the intervention. In contrast, a measure of past behavior improved…