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Public acceptability of road pricing schemes has been extensively studied in the literature, however, this has rarely been investigated in the Chinese context. Given the differences in culture and political system between China and the West, it is questionable whether these Western context-based key determinants and frameworks for assessing public acceptability can be applied to the Chinese context. Therefore, this research aims to contribute to the knowledge by discussing whether contextual factors matter to the analysis of public acceptability of congestion charging. A mixed method approach was adopted in this research. Firstly, twelve stakeholder interviews were undertaken to explore policymakers' understanding of public acceptability and their motivations for considering it. Secondly, nine focus groups were conducted to identify key determinants of public acceptability in the Chinese context and to propose a framework for analysing public acceptability in China. Thirdly, an attitude survey was conducted to understand the extent to which acceptability constructs matter. A final sample of 1104 valid responses was obtained and then analysed by using structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings of stakeholder interviews suggest there are multiple barriers for policymakers to considering public acceptability while only a few factors urging them to think about it. Findings from focus group discussions. The results of focus group discussions and the SEM exercise demonstrate that public acceptability is dominantly influenced by the level of trust people have towards government and experts. Various determinants in the Western context, such as access to information and perceived effectiveness were found inappropriate to investigate public acceptability in the Chinese context. The results imply that public acceptability of congestion charging in the Chinese context has a stronger resonance with wider social issues than more specific transport problems. As such, attempting to present evidence on the anticipated effectiveness of the policy in alleviating congestion and smog problem may not make the policy more acceptable to the public. The overall inference of the study is that contextual factors are more important than has been previously considered within public acceptability studies which has important implications for the role of context and cultural values in both research and practice.

Unsafe driver behaviour is regarded as the most significant contributory factor in road traffic crashes in Nigeria, and the prevailing road safety culture in the country is one aspect which sustains the high crash rate. This research used a problem-oriented approach with the intention to recommend research-based solutions to road safety problems in Nigeria while considering cultural and environmental factors that provoke different driving styles and behaviours. It aims to identify which, among culture and road environment, has a stronger influence on drivers' behaviour and how behavioural changes can be achieved. To achieve this, a multi-method approach was adopted in different phases. Phase 1, an exploratory study involved on-road observation of traffic behaviour and conflicts in Nigeria using the Traffic Conflict Technique (TCT). It provided an understanding of the general traffic behaviour of various road users, showed the effect of various factors on conflict severity and helped to identify the most prevalent unsafe behaviours found in this environment. Based on the results of this study, a driving simulator experiment was designed and carried out in Phase 2, comparing the driving style of three groups of drivers in varying road conditions. These were Nigerians with no experience of driving in the United Kingdom (UK), Nigerians with some experience of driving in the UK and UK drivers. The conditions varied depending on how much regulation was provided (low or high infrastructure). A short road safety awareness-raising intervention for Nigerian drivers with no experience of driving in the UK was also evaluated. It was hypothesised that those Nigerian drivers with no experience of driving in a highly regulated UK road system would not be encouraged to adopt a safe driving style. This would have implications for the use of road safety interventions in Nigeria that have been developed outside the Nigerian context. In addition, participants completed the Driving Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) to compare reported behaviour and objectively measured driving behaviour in various traffic scenarios (overtaking, lane changing, car following etc.). Since many road safety measures could not evaluated for Nigerian drivers in phase 2, a focus group study was conducted in Phase 3 with the lead road safety agency in Nigeria-the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). The study investigated the perceived effectiveness and ease of implementation of a wide range of road safety measures on drivers' behaviour including those that were evaluated in Phase 2 (simple engineering measures and awareness-raising campaigns). Results provided a greater understanding of the road safety situation in Nigeria. Some of the unsafe behaviours identified in Phase 1 are distinct and can only be found in a particular cultural environment like Nigeria because of the traffic conditions and vehicle fleet. Investigating some of these behaviours in Phase 2 and comparing them with the behaviour of drivers from other cultures showed that there were distinct differences in behaviour between all the groups in most of the traffic scenarios. Nigerian drivers with no experience of driving in the UK were more likely to engage in unsafe driving behaviours compared to other groups. Improvements in the road environment did not bring about any significant changes in the behaviour of this group of drivers. However, small changes were observed after the awareness-raising intervention. The results indicate that the behaviour of drivers are interpretable in relation to their traffic safety culture, and are only partly influenced by their driving environment. Specifically, drivers' traffic safety culture has a greater influence on their behaviour compared to changes in the road environment. Findings from the focus group study in phase 3 revealed that road safety measures such as education and information campaigns are perceived to have the potential to be very effective and easy to implement in Nigeria compared to other measures. The research findings provide an innovative approach to defining the key safety-critical behaviours which are prevalent in Nigeria as well as starting to understand how features of the road environment and/or training could be used to improve the road safety record in Nigeria. It also has implications for the design of road safety interventions in developing countries, particularly with respect to the non-portability of infrastructure measures from developing countries.

Considerable reductions in energy demand across society are necessary in order for the UK to achieve its decarbonisation targets by 2050. Significant attention has been given to challenging the carbon intensity of transport to help achieve these targets, with commuting of particular interest. Flexible working practices are promoted as desirable policies to intervene in these journeys; however cutting emissions and reducing demand has proved difficult. Limitations of these predominant individualistic perspectives illustrate why alternative mechanisms and perspectives are required to approach the sustainability challenge. Social practice theory can help in this endeavour, by decentralising the individual and instead placing the practices which constitute individual lives at the centre of analysis. Exploring and understanding transport as a system of practice draws attention to the ways in which practices bundle together in the organisation of everyday lives. It is through this understanding that alternative avenues for intervention arise; for example into the practice of flexible working, which engender the need for particular modes of mobility. To understand the influence of flexible working, analysis of 29 in-depth semi-structured interviews was conducted, which considered an understanding of work and its connections to other adjacent practices, particularly related to the household and the commute necessary. The results show that although technology has allowed work practices to change in many ways and to allow for greater spatial and temporal flexibility, it has not, in the sample investigated, led to a major shift in commute behaviours to lower carbon modes. The results also show that it is not the apparent flexibility of different types of work ('creative' vs 'non-creative') that is important, rather that the workplace, for many professions and for many people, seems to hold very strong social, material and professional attractions which influence what flexibilities exist and how they might be deployed or integrated.

In the face of rising emissions from transport, urbanization, global warming, security concerns, digitalization, ageing population, peak oil uncertainty and a long-standing concern for accessibility, transport practitioners and academics understand that transport planning and policies must be seen to be taking account of, and addressing all these challenges in tandem. Encouragingly, a number of interdisciplinary and integrated tools have been developed to help address each or combinations of these issues. These approaches have, for example, stressed the need for policymakers to overcome organizational boundaries, accommodate some degree of uncertainty, and to engage with all relevant stakeholders in the decision-making environment in a process of systematic thinking that is holistic rather than linear. However, a review of these tools in the area of strategic transport planning shows that they are mostly used to imagine environmentally sustainable transport futures. There is very little in the literature in terms of their use to think about socially-just transport futures. This is against the backdrop of some understanding that the goal of environmentally sustainable transport futures is intricately linked to, and contingent on socially sustainable goals such as equity, fairness and justice. To address this deficiency, this research develops a methodology for imagining socially-just transport futures by drawing upon three main futures approaches (scenario planning, backcasting and visioning) on one hand, and the principles of social justice on the other. The method was developed using desk-based research involving a review of the state-of-the-art in futures methods and conceptualisations of social justice principles. To critically evaluate its usefulness, the method was implemented in a workshop in Ghana with policymakers and other relevant stakeholders in the field of transport. The findings show that the method developed in this thesis is a useful planning tool for imagining socially-just transport futures. This it does by helping transport planners and policymakers to more openly deal with uncertainty in long-term futures, opens up debates on the various pathways to achieve socially-just transport futures, and highlights the commitments and investments needed to actualise a vision of social justice in transport. The results also show that while transport planners and practitioners in Ghana are not oblivious to the concept of social justice, the term is generally narrowly-construed.

This research is about power. It is completely immersed in modern societies, reflections on power have not settled its definition. Regardless of centuries of considerations about power, there is still much to learn about its exercise. For decades, power has been analysed by scholars all over the world; however, transport planners have avoided issues concerning power. This dissertation focuses on the use of power during planning and implementation processes of two Bus Rapid Transit Systems; one in Quito, Ecuador, and another in Cambridge, England. Using a multimethod phronetic approach, this research examines how decisions were made for the implementation of BRT in the selected case studies. Phronetic methodology aims to explain social phenomena by piecing together large and small details that shape the context of events; in this case, existing planning documentation and the narratives of key stakeholders and decision-makers —such as former Mayors, Council Members, and Heads of Transport Departments— were used to understand the reasons behind the adoption of bus systems. Despite the contextual differences of geography, population, and political and administrative terms between Quito and Cambridge, there are key themes found in both case studies. Solving congestion and improving economic growth is a key motivation for the implementation of the systems in both cases. A complex network of actors is formed during the planning processes of BRT systems that shape the way decisions are made. In both cases, an isolated group of actors that lack the opportunity to exercise power was also identified. A sophisticated mixture of power mechanisms were discovered, which contained actors that had more experience, training and opportunities to exercise power. The findings of the analysis of power in Quito and Cambridge suggest that stakeholders with opportunities to exercise power —from the beginning— are also actors with more opportunities to influence the final uptake of the systems. Planners interested in participatory processes need to focus efforts to involve different communities as early as possible in the planning processes. The inclusion of communities does not guarantee that their needs and objectives will be incorporated into the planning process. A set of power mechanisms need to be developed by all members involved in the process. An early participation of these communities can help focus planning on solving people’s needs rather than the implementation of a specific scheme.

Travel behaviour change is traditionally regarded as being difficult to achieve, with strategies and initiatives often generating only slow and incremental shifts in behaviour amongst the population. There is an emerging discussion in the literature that more radical approaches to travel behaviour change are needed, to contribute to achieving challenging decarbonisation targets. If a step change is required then one potential source of learning is the study of disruptions to systems of mobility provision, which may provide valuable insights into how more radical travel behaviour change is achieved and, potentially, sustained. This thesis provides an innovative approach to examining major-event disruption, in this case arising from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to understand the potential for change from such large, disruptive events. A four-wave longitudinal panel survey was applied to establish the extent, and longevity, of change in response to the Games. The research uses the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) to critically examine travel behaviour. The results show that change was extensive during the Games (54% made at least one change); however change was not often sustained afterwards. Reducing, relocating and re-timing were the most common changes. The key elements of the TTM were not well suited to studying change in such a context, however less commonly used constructs of the model contributed to the identification of four clusters within the sample that provided valuable insight into the behaviour observed. This research makes a valuable contribution to the growing literature around the potential for learning, and opportunities for change, when there is an imperative to do so. Whilst the longevity of changes to travel were limited, the research provided greater understanding of the adaptability and planning involved in response to major-event disruption, and what this means for future travel planning. The clusters generated helped to show the psychological constructs important for supporting different types of change, which can contribute to approaching and understanding travel behaviour change in broader contexts, when there is an imperative to change.