Carrots versus Sticks: Assessing Intervention Effectiveness and Implementation Challenges for Active Transport

Abstract

Strategies to manage transportation demand are colloquially labeled carrots or sticks: carrots (or enablers) to entice desired travel behaviors and sticks (or deterrents) that discourage undesirable ones. Assessing the merits of each approach requires answering two questions: which approach is most effective at influencing travel behavior; and what is the difference in terms of ease of implementation between carrots and sticks? The literature typically examines these questions in isolation, but success depends upon both intervention efficacy and the ability to implement. Using a multiple-methods approach, we find those interventions that incorporate both enablers and deterrents are most effective at encouraging active transportation while remaining feasible to implement.