WSP team leader for human factors and social science Dr. Leoni McKelvey says young people see public transport in particular as being environmentally friendly and are very willing to use it. “They report positive feelings around electric transport options, enjoy novelty such as colourful transport designs, and like travelling in ways that connect them with nature.”
At the same time, young people raised concerns about the reliability, availability, and affordability of all modes of transport – especially public transport.
Negative perceptions were due to safety, cost, discomfort with overcrowding, inconvenient schedules, and the time public transport can take compared with other options.Inter-city public transport was also highlighted as a concern.
Young people in large urban centres such as Auckland and Wellington report being able to move around within cities reasonably easily but travelling between cities was reported as being difficult.
“Contrary to popular opinion, young people don't have much time – having to juggle study and jobs. In terms of reliability, they think that having their own car is better,” says Leoni. Recently licenced young drivers highlighted concerns about the cost of running a car, busy roads, congestion, and parking. With less life experience and resilience to deal with these issues, the mental load of these issues can be taxing.
WSP’s research project – dubbed the Sustainovation Collective – departed from traditional data gathering. A mix of novel approaches was used, including a peer-led survey, map-based and ‘day-in-the-life' feedback, and creative digital mediums.
Twenty young people from urban and rural areas were recruited through social media and invited to take part. Split into four groups, they co-created the research design gathering perceptions from over 100 young people across New Zealand and helped with data analysis.
The first group developed a survey asking for their peers’ thoughts on the affordability and barriers to travel around the country. The second worked with ‘maptionnaire’ where young people pinned their good and bad experiences of travel on an online map. The third group created day-in-the-life accounts of travel on different transport modes, and the fourth used AI to create online posters and memes to explore the full spectrum of travel experiences.
All up, one hundred and forty-one young people aged between sixteen and thirty provided input. Afterwards, the original group of twenty took part in online workshops, sharing their methods, reviewing findings with the AA, and exploring possible solutions. The research also aimed to find out how best to engage young people in qualitative research.
