TRAIN OR PLANE - AN EMPIRICAL-STUDY OF TH E CHOICE OF MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION IN INTRA-EUROPEAN TRAVEL

One of the most important issues in the environmental debate is the ne cessity of reducing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. I n industrial nations CO2-emissions are mainly produced by the increase in leisure-time traffic. Therefore, it is of major political concern to motivate consumers to switch to means of transportation which prote ct the environment better. Possible determinants in the choice of the means of transportation are the features of each alternative (e.g., ti me input, costs) as well as environmental attitudes of consumers. In t his study 218 customers of a local travel agency were questioned conce rning their environmental awareness and their perception of costs and time differences in traveling by plane or train within Europe. The res ults show that the decision between plane and train is determined by c ost and time differences and not by the customers' environmental attit udes. Furthermore, comparisons between the perceived and real differen ces in terms of time and cost reveal that customers are very well info rmed. Furthermore, the study reveals that opportunity costs matter as much as direct costs for the choice of the means of transportation. Th is result confirms standard Rational-Choice assumptions but contradict s the findings of many experimental studies in which subjects underest imate opportunity costs.