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MBS and Tesco link up for ride-sharing pilot
Professor Chris Easingwood and Dr Steven Moxey have been awarded a new research project in partnership with Tesco plc to develop an 'environmental technology model', namely a model that explains how technology may be used to encourage the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviours and services. The model will be tested in a major pilot study at several Tesco stores where shoppers will be provided with mobile software to encourage ride-sharing when driving to and from the store.
Ride-sharing is capable of making a contribution to both a more sustainable way of life and to CO2 reduction as shoppers share journeys and vehicles leading to fewer journeys. Secondary benefits are likely to include a reduction in traffic congestion and also a strengthening of the sense of local community as people collaborate to ride-share. Although ride-sharing is attractive from an environmental perspective, take-up amongst users has often been very low.
The first ride-sharing schemes used telephones and paper but in the modern world ride-sharing starts with the web, and users interact with an electronic service to arrange their ride-share. Technology Acceptance Models (TAM) were first developed for the adoption of information technology services and have been extensively applied. The objective of the project is to extend the existing TAM to include environmentally-friendly services leading to a new eTAM model.
To support this work Tesco are developing a new consumer ride-sharing service, which will be piloted in four Tesco Extra stores with up to 2,000 users. Incentives will play an important role in persuading shoppers to ride-share, and a wide range of incentives will be considered during the project including loyalty points, preferential parking, and free coffee.
The research project has now started and will run until April 2010.
For further information, please contact Dr Steven Moxey or Professor Chris Easingwood.
