Image by flickr user sicoactiva.
We like to think of the choice to drive a car as just that: A choice. That’s why we frame the Private Automobile vs. Public Transportation debate in terms like “travel mode choice.”
We then shame drivers for their choice, knowing in our heart-of-hearts that they’re making a less than optimal decision.
But what if choice had very little to do with it? What if driving an automobile was habitual and devoid of choice?
What if driving was like cigarette smoking? We all know it’s bad for us, but damn if it doesn’t feel good while we’re doing it.
If that hypothesis were the case (and someone far smarter than I should test it to find out), then it means our entire approach to transit planning and marketing is flawed.
If that hypothesis is correct then no matter how perfectly planned a transit system is, increased ridership is unlikely to follow.
Suddenly we’re dealing with addiction. How then to deal with that?
4 Comments
Walking, exercise, and views of nature help release oxytocin (the love hormone) in the brain. Stimulation from acceleration, noise, and anger can be patterns of dopamine (the addiction hormone) use in some people.
Such new and artificial environments like fast car use can be habit forming from dopamine release, making drivers stuck in traffic naturally exhibiting withdrawl symtoms such as irritability. Dopamine produces more desire but makes the activity less satisfying; people get hooked on fast roads while enjoying the commute less.
Most public transit and subways are so sterile people used to cars avoid them because it is such a shift. Above ground trains with better views and quiet rides provide a more pleasant experience IMO.
Interesting . . . I like it . . . do you have any research to back those claims up? 🙂
You can google anything that deals with dopamine and oxytocin.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/dopamine
@ “Most public transit and subways are so sterile people used to cars avoid them because it is such a shift.”
Do you want anything like this?
( THIRD PICTURE on a newspaper article about guerilla gardeners)
http://derstandard.at/1246541688258/Aus-unserer-Sicht-ist-das-kein-Vandalismus?seite=6
Or better inside? A gondola with a coffe maker or with an attractive stewardess?
Or this: http://www.designq.co.uk/