An experimental simulation of adaptations to increased car-use costs

A paper-and-pencil experimental simulation was devised to examine car users’ adaptation to increased travel costs. In Study 1 travel related to different types of daily agendas was compared for two groups of undergraduates (n = 24) with different costs for car use. When car-use costs increased, a tradeoff between minimizing travel costs and travel time was observed for both more and less habitual car users. Car-use reduction was still less among the former than among the latter. Study 2 employed four groups of undergraduates (n = 48) to examine effects of learning when the costs for car use changed from low to high, from high to low, or remained unchanged. Small learning effects were observed when there was no change in costs. When the costs changed, asymmetrical carryover effects indicated a higher responsiveness to changes from low to high costs than the reverse.