Summary:
Conventional methods to understand urban transportation mode choice primarily revolve around assessing the relation costs/benefits among the different mobility alternatives. However, emerging research has emphasized the significance of comprehending intricate social processes that shape decision-making in urban mobility. This study delves into the impact of social networks on aggregated travel behavior, using a comprehensive dataset encompassing multiple data sources such as Twitter/X messages, bicycle sharing system (BSS) and traffic counts, weather and socio-demographic information. Focusing specifically on the city of Madrid, Spain, the dataset covers an extensive period, capturing daily data from 2018 to 2021. To gain deeper insights into the underlying influences, a combination of panel regression models and a topic modeling approach were employed for analysis. The study’s findings highlight the significant impact of social media communication on transportation behavior, revealing a positive correlation between higher social media message volume and increased usage of public and sustainable transportation options like subways and BSS, while private car usage decreased. Although there is message salience, i.e., a sudden surge in tweet numbers leads to a temporary shift in behavior, the findings suggest that municipalities can effectively influence transportation behavior by strategically communicating messages related to sustainable transportation through social networks.
Spanish layman's summary:
Este estudio explora el efecto de las redes sociales en las opciones de transporte urbano en Madrid, utilizando datos de Twitter, de tráfico y clima. Los resultados indican que una mayor actividad en redes sociales se asocia con un mayor uso del transporte público y una menor utilización del coche.
English layman's summary:
This study explores how social networks influence urban transportation choices in Madrid, using data from 2018-2021, including Twitter, traffic counts, and weather. Findings show that increased social media activity correlates with higher use of public transport and a decline in car usage.
Keywords: Social network; Mobility behaviour; Urban transportation; Topic modelling; Panel data
JCR Impact Factor and WoS quartile: 3,500 - Q1 (2023)
DOI reference:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-024-10512-6
Published on-line: August 2024.
Citation:
C. Martínez de Ibarreta Zorita, J. Cifuentes, C.M. Vallez Fernández, A. Betancourt, Unveiling the effect of social media communication on urban mobility. Transportation. [Online: August 2024]
