Geographical Analysis of Psychological Barriers to Not Using of Public Transport in Ahvaz Metropolis

Apart from infrastructure issues such as fleet depletion, fleet shortages, economic issues, socio-cultural barriers, environmental issues, and management weaknesses, psychological barriers are also effective on not using public transport. Understanding the psychological factors of people using public transport can have important implications for transportation policies, its promotion, and relocation management. The present study aimed geographical analysis of psychological barriers to not using public transportation in Ahvaz metropolis. The study employed an applied-theoretical research design and a descriptive-analytical research method. The research data was collected through library studies, surveys, and interviews with people and experts. The ARAS decision making method was employed to rank the barriers. Moreover, the kriging interpolation model was used for zoning these barriers in Ahvaz city and in ARC GIS 10.3 software. The results show that anxiety, barriers to impulse control, cognitive barriers, and personality barriers differ in each mode of public transportation such as taxi, bus, walking, and cycling. Most areas of Ahvaz have high ranges due to anxiety-raising barriers to not using public transport. The overlap of cognitive barriers also confirms that due to the lack of public transport, most areas of Ahvaz are in the low range, in terms of personality barriers are in the medium range, and in terms of impulse control barriers to not using public transport are in the very high range. After overlapping these four psychological dimensions it became clear that the psychological barriers to not using public transport are in the high range.