Choosing an electric vehicle as a travel mode: Travel Diary Case Study in a Belgian Living Lab context.

The aim of this research is to identify the relationship between travel mode and trip (purpose, time, distance) and person related factors (gender, age, diploma, attitude towards electric mobility). The data for this study were collected through the Flemish Electric Living Labs (Belgium-Flanders). Within this context participants were able to integrate an electric vehicle in their daily lives over a period of ten weeks. In return the test population had to fill in a travel diary for two weeks. To estimate travel mode a discrete choice model, via a multinomial logistic regression was analysed. All pre-defined factors influence and hence predict in a certain way travel mode choice. Especially trip distance is determinative: from short to long distance, drivers are likely to first choose a bike (or going by foot), followed by an electric vehicle and thereafter a conventional car. The predictive power of 'attitude towards electric mobility' is investigated in this paper. A positive attitude has a plausible connection with a greater concern for the environment and hence an explanation why drivers are more likely to opt for the bike (or going by foot) instead of taking an electric vehicle.