This is a question that has spawned an entire field of research. And a study from the latest issue of the
Journal of Public Transportation entitled "Psychological Determinants of the Intention to Use the Bus in Ho Chi Minh City" [
PDF] aims to help provide some answers.
Ho Chi Minh City vs. American Cities
Before getting to the meat of the study, I feel that a comparison between Ho Chi Minh City (often abbreviated HCMC) and large American cities is in order.
Ho Chi Minh City is the largest, most populous city in Vietnam. With over 7 million people packed into just 320 square miles, HCMC has the 20th highest population density of any city in the world. Los Angeles, America's most densely populated city, has almost 12 million people, but they are spread across 2700 square miles. As such, LA only ranks 90th in a world comparison of population density.
Another key difference is that in HCMC, the only available mode of public transportation is the bus system. Of course, most major cities in the U.S. offer multiple forms of mass transit, which should make mass transit even more viable here.
Thirdly, is the type personal transportation used in HCMC. In the United States, automobiles are the way most people get around. In Ho Chi Min City, the preferred mode of personal transit is motorbikes. Recent estimates say that there are 500,000 automobiles on the road, but over 4.5 million motorbikes.
A final consideration that I believe is important when considering this study's application to U.S. cites is Vietnam's relatively collectivist culture. America is known for its individuality, which plays a role in our choice of personal transportation over mass transit.
Despite these differences, I believe this study can can shed some light onto the factors that influence public transportation choices in the United States.
The Study
The researches found four main psychological factors that influenced HCMC resident bus ridership. Those factors are:
Moral concerns
This factor includes an awareness that choosing personal transportation can cause pollution, and that choosing public transportation would be in everyone's collective interests.
Negative impression
This item includes aspects of public transportation like experiencing other unfavorable incidents such as discourteous treatment by public transportation employees.
Quality perception
This factor includes elements such as the timeliness and ease of using the public transportation system.
Social status
The social component of public transportation accounts for the perception that public transportation users are too poor to afford personal transportation, and therefore of lesser status.
Encouraging Results
The largest factor in determining the intention to use pubic transportation was moral concerns.
That's right, HCMC inhabitants were most likely to be influenced by the idea that public transportation use was better for the planet and better for their fellow citizens. This is a promising result because spreading the word about public transportation's ecological and societal benefits is one of the more easily adjusted factors on the list.
Of course, Vietnam's more collectivist society makes it easier to sell the "it's better for everyone" argument in HCMC than it is in the ruggedly individualistic cities of America.
The second greatest determinant was quality perception. This is another promising result. American cities like Denver and San Francisco have already illustrated the positive effect that improved customer service and usability can have on public transit use. And HCMC is working toward improving and expanding their public transportation, which is being couples with an equally aggressive public relations campaign.
I was surprised to see that Social status and negative impression were the least contributing factors to public transportation ridership. But I am comforted by it nonetheless. Those results may mean that if the benefits of public transportation are made clear, and a quality service is provided, people will be more likely to use mass transit systems.
And that's good news no matter what city you live in.