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Nudging people onto the bus
Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT)
Challenge
Which nudge nudges most? And what makes that nudge even more powerful?
To reverse the decline in bus passenger numbers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, transport advocacy group, CPT, developed four campaigns, each based on a different nudge. We were asked to prove how successfully each campaign would change behaviour, identify which would be most effective and how to activate it even further. This would enable the group to build a strong case for government support and engage a wider group of stakeholders.
Research
Mindlab designed a range of implicit tests to measure the effectiveness of each campaign.
We divided participants into three group and primed each group with a different scenario, such as the pandemic is over or people are still wearing masks as the R number is high.
Step 1. Test campaigns
We asked participants how likely they were to use the bus during the following weeks then divided them into four groups showing a different campaign to each. Participants completed a range of tasks before answering the same question about how likely they were to use the bus.
Step 2. Test activations
We looked at two activation methods to boost the effectiveness of the campaigns. Both activations offered a free bus journey but presented it differently. To determine which would work best, we carried out a preference test where participants were shown pairs of travel options (for instance “bus or train?”) and asked to choose one. After seeing the methods, we ran the preference test again.
The preference test required participants to select their answers very quickly so there was little opportunity for them to consciously alter their responses. This limited the scope for social desirability bias and ensured the results are a strong indicator of behaviour change.
Step 3. Combine
Lastly, we looked at how the activation methods performed when combined with each campaign and how the results differed amongst four clusters: key workers, students, returning workers and socialising young people.
Here are examples of the imagery participants interacted with during the research.
Findings
Campaigns
Our tests indicated that all four campaigns encouraged people to travel by bus, especially the young people cluster, with the most effective campaign likely increasing bus usage by 17%. “There’s a bus for that” was identified as the slogan with the most positive impact and greatest longevity.
The bus is already seen as useful, accessible and convenient, but more emotional words such as ‘fun’, ‘proud’ and ‘excitement’ are less strongly linked to bus travel. The most common reason to get the bus was convenience and the most common occasions were shopping, going to work, visiting family and socialising.
Activations
Both activations increased preference for buses, with activation B being slightly more effective overall. Interestingly, activation A showed promise, especially in the most impactful campaigns, emphasising the need to consider all communication when designing behaviour change campaigns.
Result
Because these findings were based on implicit measures rather than simply asking people explicit questions, the CPT could be confident that these results were strong indicators of likely behaviour change, rather than being due to social desirability bias. They were able to choose the right approach to create the biggest impact, with their stakeholders and passengers.
