Effect of perceived family attitudes on commuting decisions in Wenling, China

Research on carbon dioxide emissions (CDE) due to transportation has traditionally focused on objective factors and subjective attitudes toward external objective factors. There is limited research on attitudes to external subjective factors. This study investigated whether travellers emulate family members’ travel choices, affecting commuting CDE, with a focus on perceived family attitudes (PFA). The results from a survey of 5663 respondents in Wenling, China were analysed samples using hierarchical regression and bootstrap methods. It was found that PFA significantly impact commuting CDE, both directly and through influencing transportation preferences. Specifically, favourable PFA towards low carbon dioxide options like public transit reduce CDE, while positive views of high carbon dioxide modes increase CDE.