Ecotravel Coordinator Program

This study introduces an ecotravel coordinator program to reduce car use. In this system, ecotravel coordinators are put in charge of several people. They organize ecotravel meetings and are responsible for taking the initiative. During the meetings participants recognize and deepen their understanding of their travel behaviors and devise their own plans for reducing car use. The aim of this study is to examine the validity of the ecotravel coordinator program through an experimental method. One result of the experiments was that the ecocoordinators and the other participants reduced their car travel mileage 54% and 48%, respectively. Nonparticipants, however, almost never reduced their travel mileage (1.4% reduction). Thus, experiment results indicate that the system is fairly effective for reducing car use.