An examination of the relationship between social interactions and travel uncertainty

Insights are also provided from the analysis of relationships between an individual's socio-demographic characteristics, their ego-centric social network, their social interactions and the location in which they live, through the use of clusters analysis, and how this links to two key travel behaviour aspects: who respondents would turn to in particular for advice on travel decisions, and who (and why) they would contact, if they were experiencing an uncertain situation while travelling. It is shown that the first named member of the social network member is a key person for individuals facing travel uncertainty, and that individuals will turn to others, often within their social network, for emotional as well as decision-making support. In addition, older people, those with a lower number of contacts, and those living in smaller households are more likely to decide by themselves in uncertain travel situations.