Latent class analysis of carpooling intentions considering the motives, barriers, and benefits: policy insights for behavioral change

Javid, Muhammad Ashraf; Farooq, Abdus Samad; Ali, Nazam · 2025 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1007/s10668-025-06394-y

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Summary

This study addresses the need for sustainable mobility strategies in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan, where rapid urbanization and private vehicle usage have exacerbated traffic congestion. The research investigates travelers’ intentions toward carpooling by analyzing their perceptions of barriers, motives, and benefits. The primary objective is to segment the travel market into distinct latent classes to derive targeted policy insights for behavioral change, specifically examining how socioeconomic demographics correlate with these perceptions and what interventions can promote carpooling adoption. Data were collected via an online questionnaire administered to 400 travelers in April 2024. The survey captured socioeconomic demographics, travel patterns, and perceptions of carpooling attributes using a five-point Likert scale. The analysis employed principal factor analysis to identify latent variables, followed by latent class analysis (LCA) to categorize respondents into three distinct groups for barriers, motives, and benefits. Binary logistic regression was then used to determine the significant predictors of class membership. The LCA identified three classes for each category. For barriers, the classes were “barrier-conscious” (34.8%), “apathetic about barriers” (36%), and “carpooling spectators” (29.2%). For motives, the classes were “non-carpoolers” (27.2%), “apathetic carpoolers” (38%), and “dedicated carpoolers” (34.8%). For benefits, the classes were “non-believers” (14.5%), “casual believers” (30.8%), and “benefits passionate” (54.8%). ANOVA results confirmed significant heterogeneity in perceptions across these classes. Logistic regression revealed that gender, profession, travel mode, income, car ownership, trip distance, and cost reduction expectations significantly predict class membership. Specifically, travelers in the “dedicated carpoolers,” “carpooling spectators,” and “benefits passionate” classes exhibited a higher likelihood of carpooling. Conversely, those with trip distances of 6–15 km were more likely to be non-carpoolers. The study also found that a 50% cost reduction expectation positively impacts both the propensity to carpool and the belief in its benefits. The findings imply that carpooling promotion strategies must be tailored to specific traveler segments rather than applied uniformly. Transport planners can use these classifications to design targeted interventions, such as addressing the privacy and comfort concerns of the “barrier-conscious” group or leveraging cost incentives for those sensitive to financial benefits. The study highlights that while a majority of respondents are passionate about the benefits of carpooling, significant barriers related to trust and convenience persist, necessitating incentive-based policies to shift behavior from single-occupancy vehicles to shared mobility.

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