Understanding local public transport use among workers in a medium sized Italian city through qualitative interviews

This exploratory qualitative study investigates discursive representations related to workers’ propensity to use local public transport (LPT) in Cuneo, a medium-sized city in north-western Italy (approximately 55,816 inhabitants), identifying the main barriers and facilitating factors in public transport choice. Drawing on routine theory, fifty semistructured interviews were conducted with workers aged between 18 and 65 and analysed using IRaMuTeQ 0.8 alpha 7. The analysis suggested the presence of four lexical classes. The first describes a representation of everyday mobility oriented towards daily car use. The second highlights the role of (potential) economic rationality and compatibility with daily routines. The third refers to cycling mobility as an alternative to both LPT and car use. The fourth frames the use of LPT as a cultural and educational issue. Overall, the findings suggest that the use of LPT may be constrained by the organisation of daily life. The findings further suggest that, in medium-sized cities, mobility choices may be shaped by habitual, structural, and cultural dimensions. By identifying the factors that may hinder or facilitate the adoption of local public transport, the findings contribute to current debates on sustainable urban mobility. They may also offer insights to inform policies aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).