A multifaceted design strategy to encourage sustainable travel behaviour
Feb 2024 - ongoing
Concerns about the environmental impact of the transport sector are increasing, particularly regarding the decarbonization of aviation and road transportation. The European Green Deal aims to reduce transport-related GHG emissions by 90% by 2050, but this sector remains one of the most challenging to decarbonize. Despite the recognized need for shifting travel behaviour towards more sustainable modes, encouraging this shift remains a significant challenge, and a rise in unsustainable travel behavior and global greenhouse gas emissions is (still) visible. Multimodal digital mobility services are promising technologies that could enhance the environmental performance of transport and promote sustainable travel behavior. However, without a systemic shift towards a stabilized, innovative, and collaborative European passenger transport network, these innovative services, will struggle to survive.

This graduation project presents a multifaceted design strategy aimed at 1) designing a strategy for a multimodal passenger platform and 2) designing for the future of mobility towards seamless, multimodal travel.
After extensive research, including literature review, market research, and expert interviews, it was clear how to design for behavioural change, who and what to design for, and what the desired outcomes of the project would be. Subsequently, in the design phase, multiple design sprints and co-creation sessions with fellow students and potential platform users led to four possible platform strategies.
The platform strategy addresses the challenges of lacking motivation and ability that lead to unsustainable travel behaviour. By creating a strategically designed choice environment, the platform strategy uses choice architecture to nudge travelers towards sustainable options,
inform them about their climate impact, and make sustainable choices desirable and feasible through human-like support and seamless travel experiences.
Additionally, a design roadmap envisions a future mobility scenario for 2050, supported by enhanced stakeholder collaboration and digital and physical infrastructure improvements. This roadmap outlines four phases:
1) establishing a foundation and pre-development of the platform,
2) positioning the platform as a key player,
3) embracing competition and innovation till market saturation, and
4) ultimately achieving systemic change in a stabilized market, together.
Name: Jenske Gosens
Master: Strategic Product Design
Supervisory Team: Dr. ir. Suzanne Hiemstra-van Mastrigt, Prof.dr.ir. Ruth Mugge, Dr. Catalina Estrada Mejia
Partners: TULIPS
Graduation project