Auckland Transport
J005679_22.04.20
Practical applications of behavioural science during COVID-19
A discussion document summarising a behavioural science approach to encourage the ongoing adherence to COVID-19 behaviours by customers on Auckland Transport’s network, as well as preparations for impacts on customer segments and behaviours. Confidential, not for external distribution
Contents Executive summary 3 Introduction 4 Behavioural science overview 5 Key behavioural challenges for AT 6 COVID-19 desired transport behaviours 8 Behavioural interventions for Alert Levels 4 & 3 9 Behavioural interventions for Alert Levels 2 & 1 15 Conclusion 21 Appendix: Important notice 22 References 23
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Practical applications of behavioural science during COVID-19 COVID-19
Confidential, not for external distribution
Executive summary New Zealand’s success in the fight against COVID-19 is, largely, dependent on the behaviour of everyday citizens. As a provider of infrastructure that connects Aucklanders, AT has a critical role in ensuring the continued adherence to the necessary behaviours to contain this virus, and ultimately, a part to play in the health of Auckland’s citizens. Behavioural science can play an important role in AT’s response to this pandemic; providing critical insights into how and why people do what they do. Research, techniques and methodologies from this specialism, supporting individual adherence to the necessary behaviours as well as providing insights needed to prepare for new customer habits as we move down the alert levels.
To support the next steps and discussions, the practical intervention ideas have been prioritised based on assumed ease of implementation, cost and impact on the audience. These prioritisations require internal validation to be truly meaningful. Further work can also be done to identify internal data sources, such as review of CCTV, to identify whether customers are adhering to necessary physical distancing rules. Next steps will be the wide sharing of this document with relevant internal stakeholders across the teams referenced and an internal briefing call where key insights can be shared.
We have outlined core behavioural challenges for Auckland Transport through the COVID-19 levels, such as managing fear and instilling trust and preparing for lost public transport commuter habits. Yet, the main focus of this discussion document is practical intervention recommendations to tackle these challenges. It includes specific execution recommendations across channels, teams, and current Auckland Transport programmes.
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Introduction This report provides a behavioural science approach to encourage the ongoing adherence to COVID-19 behaviours by customers on Auckland Transport’s (AT’s) network, as well as preparations for the impacts on customer segments and public transport (PT) behaviours as we move down the alert levels. The behavioural lens applied has a customer focus. This document aims to provide relevant insights and practical intervention ideas to encourage the desired customer behaviours. The drafting of this report recognises the role AT has supporting the Ministry of Health, and the general public health of New Zealanders during this time. Also, the organisation’s role in supporting the community and enabling AT’s communities to function the best way it can.
Notes on limitations of the report • Select assumptions have had to be made about the desired behaviours at each COVID-19 Alert Level. • As AT’s behavioural science team has had the most exposure to the customer experience function within AT, the focus is predominantly on programmes, teams and channels owned by this part of the organisation. • This document has been created to encourage discussion. Therefore, no action should be taken based on this document alone. Further guidance and advice with the behavioural science team is required to ensure accurate execution of the recommendations and techniques.
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Practical applications of behavioural science during COVID-19
Behavioural science overview The field of behavioural science draws on decades of research from a broad range of disciplines and applies a more realistic understanding of human behaviour to contexts such as public policy. This is because extensive research has repeatedly shown that people’s behaviour often deviates systematically and predictably from the assumptions made in standard economic theories. Governments and firms around the world are increasingly using behavioural science and building evidence of what works through robust trials. In the past decade, they have begun using applied behavioural science techniques more systematically, including the application of ‘nudges’, to address a wider range of challenges. AT has made a commitment to behavioural science, systematically applying insights across the organisation. This has included the training of employees, adopting a behavioural innovation process, application of insights across marketing, communications and more.
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Key behavioural challenges for AT
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REDUCING AMBIGUITY AND UNCERTAINTY TO ENCOURAGE COVID-19 ADHERENCE
We have identified five high-level key challenges that have impacted and may continue to impact AT and your customers over the coming months. We provide behavioural insight ideas and opportunities to help manage these challenges.
Uncertainty and ambiguity evoke feelings of a loss-of-control, and heightened anxiety.1 During the COVID-19 pandemic, adjusting to a loss of certainty in all aspects of life has been a societal challenge. Instilling a sense of certainty around operations and services, and reducing ambiguity where possible will provide a sense of relief and reduce anxieties for both customers and employees. Each alert level provides its own unique challenges, as will transitioning between the levels. A lack of clarity around the requirements or services or loss of communication channels will lead to a heightened level of stress that may result in loss of confidence, along with an aversion to PT that may be difficult to regain. As noted in AT’s Commuter Journey Mapping sprint in 2019, uncertainty and ambiguity is a major stressor, which puts people off using PT. Ambiguity aversion describes the effort people make to avoid uncertainty. AT must reduce uncertainty where possible, to ensure that commuters have a good experience and continue to use PT.
* Accessed through the internal AT report ‘Customer Voice - Covid-19 Pulse_WE 9 April 2020’. Contact Kareem Abdelkader.
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Practical applications of behavioural science during COVID-19
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MANAGING FEAR AND INSTILLING TRUST “Fifty-nine per cent of survey respondents felt that PT providers were taking effective measures to limit the spread of COVID-19” (Ipsos COVID-19 Tracker, 2020)* Research has shown that different threats evoke different levels of anxiety, and unfamiliar threats lead to heightened levels of panic and stress.2 People aren’t particularly good at assessing risk, yet the level of perceived risk can significantly alter people’s behaviours.2 Open and transparent communication from publicly-perceived credible sources will be essential to reducing fear in NZ. Providing accurate and timely information will help to prevent longer-term aversion to PT and will help to maintain trust and strengthen customer relationships during the transition phase and further into the future. The COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded rapidly and has had severe health and economic consequences globally, which has understandably resulted in elevated levels of apprehension around transmission. Media coverage has been widespread and has predictably also played a role in the public perception of this risk both internationally and in NZ.3 Elevated anxieties can often lead to feelings of distrust and an increased propensity to place blame, either with or without reasonable cause. AT must act to retain the trust of its customers in order to prevent a prolonged aversion to PT after lockdown is reversed.
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4
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PREPARING FOR LOST PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMUTER HABITS
PLANNING FOR NEW CUSTOMER SEGMENTS AND BEHAVIOURS
PROTECTING COMMUNITY GROUPS ACROSS AUCKLAND
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, AT placed a large emphasis on establishing positive commuter habits such as using PT or active modes; and discouraged the use of singleoccupancy vehicles within the CBD in order to reduce pressure on roads, to tackle climate change and to improve Auckland’s urban environment. Since the level 4 lockdown, however, the public no longer commutes to work and all but essential PT use and services have been prohibited. Unfortunately, we do not know which behaviours and habits may change during and after a pandemic–there is no playbook for this–however, encouraging positive behaviour changes throughout the transition phase will help AT to establish favourable, rather than negative commuter habits for the future.
As the government changes the COVID-19 alert levels in New Zealand, we expect to see the emergence of new customer segments at AT that will display distinct and different behaviours than before the pandemic. Assessing and characterising Aucklanders within each segment will provide AT with an increased level of insight and empathy for each customer group, that will enable AT to respond effectively to provide the services most needed by the community in the coming months.
To protect Kiwis health, there must be an alignment of policy, practice and agenda of both public and private organisations. There is an expectation that AT will undertake new responsibilities for acting to support the health of the community. What AT’s role is in the health arena is not entirely clear, however, the steps AT takes now to ensure and prioritise the safety of their customers will have a big impact on how they are viewed in future by commuters.
During Alert Level 4 and Level 3 lockdown, people will establish new behaviours and habits and will find alternatives to PT use. This might include an increased use of single-occupancy vehicles as people seek ways to mitigate virus transmission. Encouraging positive behaviour changes and the new formation of favourable habits such as active modes including cycling, running or walking, may provide new opportunities for AT in the post-COVID-19 future, and may help to build or reinforce relationships with the public.
During the transition to lower alert levels, we may see alterations and changes to the customer profiles that rely on and use PT, that may have both advantages and disadvantages for the future of Auckland. The CBD may take longer to return to BAU even after the strict mobility restrictions have been reduced. Some businesses and individuals may not return to the CBD at all, as they rely more heavily on digital and flexible working habits, and as such, there may be longer-term changes required to service or routes and prolonged impacts or alterations to PT capacity.
During the transition to lower alert levels, there will be an ongoing role for AT to identify, protect and cater to the needs of vulnerable groups. This might include providing alternative or specific services, changes to operations or routes, increased awareness of the needs of particular subgroups and supporting other ongoing essential service workers. There are opportunities for AT to not only fulfill these roles, but to leverage customer insights to aid the government in extended contact tracing to help eradicate COVID-19 in NZ.
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COVID-19 desired transport behaviours viral spread. Yet, to ensure ongoing passenger adherence to these rules, additional steps must be taken to improve and measure compliance. These might include obtaining HOP card data of registered passengers to provide the government with support for contact tracing or measuring adherence to physical distancing through CCTV monitoring.
After the initial Level 4 lockdown, it’s expected there will be a transition period of shifting between levels, as transmission of COVID-19 is monitored. During these phases, AT will need to adjust their services in-line with governmental rules and restrictions, and implement measures to minimise the spread of the disease within the community. Below we have summarised what we have assumed are desired AT customer behaviours. Some initiatives, such as physical distancing, have already been implemented in NZ and globally, and appear to be positive steps for reducing
In the following sections, we describe several behavioural opportunities and interventions specific to the NZ COVID-19 alert levels with relevance to each of the challenges. We combine the more restrictive levels (4 and 3) and less restrictive levels (2 and 1) for simplicity.
Assumed desired behaviours at each alert level Safe use of PT and support of MoH guidelines NZ COVID-19 alert levels
4
3
2
1
Essential services only
Under 70 years old only
Physical distance
Use HOP card for travel
Use bus back door only
ELIMINATE
RESTRICT
REDUCE
*
PREPARE
* * Physical distance requirements on PT reduced from 2m to 1m
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Practical applications of behavioural science during COVID-19
Promote active modes Wash hands regularly
Regular walk
Regular cycle
Encourage use of digital Use of AT mobile
Online HOP top up
Behavioural interventions for Alert Levels 4 & 3 Covid-19 challenge*
REDUCING AMBIGUITY AND UNCERTAINTY
MANAGING FEAR AND INSTILLING TRUST
PROTECTING COMMUNITY GROUPS IN AUCKLAND * Included most relevant challenges to the COVID-19 alert levels addressed in this section of the report
Intervention title
Table below summarises the prioritised interventions to consider when managing challenges at Alert Level 4 and 3. The prioritisation has been allocated based on expected ease, cost and impact but will require internal validation.
Suggested action
Priority to be validated internally
Encourage HOP card usage using nudge messaging
Leverage reciprocity or social norms on existing channels to encourage HOP card use (supporting contact tracing).
Make 2m physical distance salient
Physical assets on PT infrastructure, to show exactly how far 2 meters is.
High priority
Managing customer expectations
Physical newsletters or notices for elderly or other less technologically -proficient groups.
High priority
Quick win
Signal the importance Messages on buses, trains and ferries asking of ‘essential travel’ only people whether their journey is ‘essential’.
Medium priority
Signal the importance Push notifications in-app asking of ‘essential travel’ only users “Choose the purpose of your journey: Travel to work, travel …”
Medium priority
Managing customers’ expectations
Utilise technique from U.K.: text messaging key guidance updates to HOP-registered customers.
Medium priority
Focus on how customers can keep themselves safe
Focusing on what people can do to protect themselves is particularly important for people who are vulnerable to stress and anxiety. Share ‘before you travel tips’.
Enable customers to call out bad behaviour
Show people how to call out bad behaviour. This can be as simple as putting up stickers empowering people to challenge unwanted behaviours.
How AT is keeping you safe
Provide footage or photos of vacant and clean services to customers.
Medium priority
Celebrate your workforce
Provide regular updates from selected employees that act as the trusted ‘faces of AT’.
Medium priority
Support Ministry of Health messaging
Regular broadcasting of information and audio reminders on PT and in stations.
Medium priority
Leverage the power of storytelling– economic impact
Testing messaging and messengers about the important role AT plays in Auckland’s economic stimulus.
Medium priority
Leverage the power of storytelling
Visual storytelling. Create and use visuals to tell a story to connect with customers.
Medium priority
HOP registration trial to support contact tracing
Implement a trial to encourage HOP registration using nudge techniques, could be through mobile notifications.
High priority
Connecting with the community
Communicate the benefits AT provides for those who need it most.
High priority
Connecting with the community
AT employees volunteer in the community.
Quick win
High priority
Medium priority
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TACKLING THE CHALLENGE
Reducing ambiguity and uncertainty to encourage COVID-19 adherence
Encourage HOP usage using nudge messaging
Make physical distance salient
An electronic direct mail has already been sent to registered HOP customers asking them to use their HOP card when using the network. The message stated: “You still need to use your HOP card to tag on and off. This means that AT can monitor passenger numbers and make fast adjustments to services if required due to changes in demand.” It could be a good time to repeat this request to the customer, reminding them to use their HOP card and testing another framing option.
People find it difficult to assess distances accurately without a clear frame-of-reference. This makes adherence to physical distancing rules difficult, as people aren’t used to judging what two metres looks like. Provide physical cues with accurate proportions exhibiting what a two-meter difference looks like. This will act as a prompt to a person entering a bus or train. By providing this prompt, you may also encourage people to speak up to those not complying, as it increases awareness (or ‘salience’) of non-compliance,
HOW THIS COULD WORK
HOW THIS COULD WORK
• Reciprocity message: To keep you and your fellow passengers safe, we ask for you to please use your HOP card when using a bus, train or ferry. During this difficult time, it’s valuable to be able to understand our customers’ use of the network.
• Utilise physical assets within AT’s PT infrastructure, including bus stops and train stations. Install creative visual cues demonstrating exactly how far two metres is.
• Reciprocity message: All travel remains free on our network. We do ask you to please use your HOP card at all times. • Social norm: 9 out of 10 customers are using a HOP card when on a bus or train. Please remember to use your card next time you use the network. (CCTV footage would be needed to attain this figure)
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Practical applications of behavioural science during COVID-19
Manage customer’s expectations - including vulnerable groups To reduce uncertainty, AT needs to provide clear, unambiguous advice. Any behaviour changes already achieved will not be sustained without a continued commitment to regular, simple and consistent messaging of the necessary containment behaviours. In particular, as we move into new alert levels, clear signposting helps prepare customers ahead of changes. In the U.K. they are using SMS texts to regularly communicate important messaging to vulnerable groups. Close to two million people receive daily SMS texts from the National Health Service warning them of the risks of coronavirus 4 The messages include content such as: “If you live alone, text a friend or a family member to let them know you are following advice to stay at home until it is safer to mix with others. Plan to chat to someone over the phone at least once a day.”
Signal the importance of ‘essential travel’ only PT patronage has dropped significantly in response to the COVID-19 lockdown and people are, for the most part, restricting themselves to essential travel only as advised by the government. As time goes on, people may become increasingly bored or frustrated by the restrictions to freedom and mobility and may start to venture out more. During Levels 3 and 4, AT could prompt would-be passengers to reflect on their reasons for travel and nudge non-essential travellers off the network. Asking customers to confirm the purpose of their travel creates friction for those that may be using PT for non-essential travel. Similar techniques are used in the insurance industry to encourage truthful answers, for example by getting people to declare their honesty before completing their insurance forms.3 HOW THIS COULD WORK
HOW THIS COULD WORK
• Put messages at the entrance to buses, trains and ferries asking people whether their journey is essential.
• Text messages. HOP-registered customers can be alerted by text with updates to services and expectations.
• Provide push notifications to AT mobile users asking them to classify the purpose of their trip.
• Physical newsletters or notices. Engage with elderly or other less technologicallyproficient groups who may not be familiar with AT mobile or the website. This may include reaching out to Gold-card holders to ensure that they are being communicated with.
• Electronic direct mail reminding customers about essential travel only • Use pop-up notifications to ask users of the journey planner to “Choose the purpose of your journey: Travel to work, travel to the pharmacy, travel to the supermarket”
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TACKLING THE CHALLENGE
Managing fear and instilling trust
Focus on how customers can keep themselves safe
Enable customers to call out bad behaviour
Framing risk is important for influencing behaviours. Focusing on what people can do to protect themselves is particularly important for people who are vulnerable to stress and anxiety.2 This is ultimately because we like to feel like we have some form of control over our outcomes, and that the actions we take can mitigate risk in our lives.
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HOW THIS COULD WORK • Share tips. Include reminders about what to do when using PT during COVID-19 such as ‘What to think about before jumping on PT’. These can be shared through AT mobile notification when a customer uses the AT mobile app, or an electronic direct mail.
Support Ministry of Health messaging Although AT remains cautious of straying too far into the Ministry of Health’s territory, reinforcing governmental messaging to keep Aucklanders safe could help build and strengthen relationships with the community. This could include content reminding customers to wash their hands, and to stay at home unless absolutely necessary. HOW THIS COULD WORK • Public education reminders. Regular broadcasting of information and audio reminders on PT and in stations to remind passengers of the importance of adhering to MoH rules.10 • Electronic direct mail reinforcing MoH advice and governmental regulations.
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Practical applications of behavioural science during COVID-19
It can be hard to know how to tackle unwanted behaviours with friends or in public, for example someone standing too close to you. The fear of ostracism or even being attacked can put people off from intervening.6 This is sometimes known as the bystander effect. In some cases, research suggests that we may be less likely to intervene when more people are around. As we have seen by the flood of police complaints on lockdown flouting, New Zealanders want to support compliance.7 Studies show that social pressure can be an effective way to enforce that norm, for example by encouraging everyone to ‘call-out’ those that are not complying with the guidelines. A trial at two universities in Australia showed that bystanders could be equipped to call out sexist, and sexual harassment behaviours, using real-life situations (for example, when a person makes sexist jokes). 42% of people who received the messaging reported taking action after witnessing sexual harassment.8 HOW THIS COULD WORK • Show people how to call out bad behaviour. This could be as simple as putting up stickers empowering people to challenge unwanted behaviours. A Kenyan trial showed that stickers with a clear call to action and a rationale such as ‘Don’t let the driver get away with murder’ encouraged passengers to speak out against dangerous driving of matatus (minibuses), reducing death and injury.9
How AT are keeping you safe
Leverage the power of storytelling
Rather than people being anchored on images of crowded trains and buses overseas, highlight what’s going well here in New Zealand, and focus on the positive framing of messages. People are also strongly influenced by social norms. Demonstrating how others are adhering to the necessary rules will encourage others to as well.
The human brain developed to remember stories, so storytelling is a useful and powerful tool to encourage engagement with messaging, and is often more likely to be remembered than facts or figures. Sharing personal stories, especially those that the target audience can relate to, will help achieve cut-through.
HOW THIS COULD WORK • Highlight vacant services. Providing footage of relatively empty services during the transition phase and longer-term.
Celebrate your workforce We feel compelled to act and respond to others in a similar way to how they act towards us; that is, humans, show a tendency to reciprocate. We can use reciprocity to help gain trust and empathy from customers, by describing the necessity of PT for servicing essential workers and vulnerable individuals. Highlighting how PT staff are essential workers committing to Auckland during a crisis can help create a sense of altruism between customer and staff. We unconsciously assess trust based on perceived capability, credibility and likability. We’re all in this together, so exhibit empathy with customers and indicate that you understand what they have been through. HOW THIS COULD WORK • ‘The faces of AT’. People don’t want to engage with a faceless company, they want to connect with real people. We see examples of this when people reject chatbots and want to engage with other humans instead. Provide regular updates from selected employees that can be the trusted ‘faces of AT’. This can help to create interest and engagement along with rapport and trust. • Public relations. This is a two-way engagement between AT and the customer. Listen to what the public are saying and connect with them on their level. This will help to build mutually beneficial relationships between AT and your customers.
One area of opportunity is how AT communicates the important role it plays in Auckland’s economic stimulus, growth and employment. With many major projects going ahead, AT will be contributing to the local economy during a time of real difficulty. There could be value in utilising storytelling to bring this contribution to life. When considering economic contribution messaging, it will be important to understand customer perceptions and testing messaging before going live. As it’s a sensitive time, through COVID-19, it will be more crucial than ever to get tone and nuance right. Therefore, understanding the audience’s current perceptions of AT’s economic contribution, and then testing draft content with a panel, can help prepare against any misinterpretations. There’s also value in investigating different messengers, as an external messenger could be more credible with this message. HOW THIS COULD WORK • Visual storytelling. Using visuals to tell a story can make the message easier to understand, and as a result, they will be more compelling and impactful. Highlighting stories of AT’s frontline staff that have been dedicated to maintaining essential services during the pandemic will not only raise empathy with customers but can also provide useful information in a memorable way. • Connect via social media. Sharing positive posts, stories or short videos via social media or online can help improve relationships and build rapport with customers. Similar examples include the ‘Thought of the Day’ shared by Transport for London to add a personal touch to PT and gained over 20,000 followers on Twitter. • Message testing of economic contribution messaging and messengers. Testing messaging and messengers about the important role AT plays in Auckland’s economic stimulus.
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TACKLING THE CHALLENGE
Protecting community groups across Auckland
HOP registration trial to support contact tracing
Connecting with the community
Contact tracing is an essential part of slowing the spread of COVID-19. It helps identify and get in touch with those who have been in close contact with a carrier. AT could fill a critical gap in the contact tracing process, as the public relies on PT to move within the city. Currently, AT can trace individuals who are registered users of HOP; however, we’ve seen a higher proportion of unregistered HOP card users since COVID-19 (Figure 1) that may be in part due to the ban on cash. The figure below highlights the number of unregistered users being 26% of users, compared to 14% pre-COVID-19.
AT is committed to being part of, and connecting with the communities it operates in. When identifying opportunities to connect with the community, you could leverage AT’s CSR activities encouraging employee COVID-19 volunteering virtually in the community. As well as providing support to those who need it most, this can also benefit staff there is substantial evidence that volunteering improves life satisfaction and mental health by increasing self-efficacy and a sense of purpose.
Implementing a trial to encourage HOP registration could help to close this gap. It may also fulfil other organisational goals, as HOP registrations affect AT’s ability to understand its customers through analytics. Using a behavioural science trial methodology, we can test a range of techniques to encourage HOP registration.
HOW THIS COULD WORK • Nudge techniques can be applied to encourage people to register their HOP cards when they first receive them. • Make HOP registration mandatory before use. • Send notifications via the AT mobile app to encourage registration.
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Practical applications of behavioural science during COVID-19
HOW THIS COULD WORK • AT employees volunteer in the community using platforms such as HelpTank 11 to offer support such as phone calls to those who are isolated. • Communicate the benefits AT provides for those who need it most such as free transport or additional services for essential workers and vulnerable individuals during the lockdown.
Behavioural interventions for Alert Levels 1 & 2 Covid-19 challenge
REDUCING AMBIGUITY AND UNCERTAINTY
PREPARING FOR LOST PT COMMUTER HABITS
PROTECTING COMMUNITY GROUPS ACROSS AUCKLAND
Intervention title
Table below summarises the prioritised interventions to consider when managing challenges at Alert Level 2 and 1. In section VII the interventions and suggested actions are described in more depth including execution details. The prioritisation has been allocated based on expected ease, cost and impact but will require internal validation.
Suggested action
Priority to be validated internally
Install physical prompts
Floor markings on the ground of the bus, train, or in stations to depict where passengers should stand.
Install physical prompts
Bus driver partition to protect drivers.
Medium priority
Leverage Travelwise Choices relationships
Provide organisations and their employees key tips for new working arrangements and transport options.
Quick win
Encourage sustainable travel
Highlight the improvements on the environment with visuals to highlight the improvements to New Zealand’s pollution levels.
Quick win
Identify and target new customer segments
Track customer sentiment. Distribute fortnightly customer surveys, cut by location and demographics
High priority
Leverage Travelwise Choices relationships
Provide commitment plans for employees of organisations returning to work to plan their trip in advance.
High priority
Identify and target new customer segments
AT mobile nudge asking one or two poll questions to track confidence and safety using PT.
Medium priority
Gamify sustainable transport options
Encourage uptake of Auckland Council’s FutureFit app to encourage reducing carbon footprints.
Medium priority
Travelwise Choices working from home campaign
Reinvigorate the Travelwise Choices Working From Home campaign
Support commitment to active modes
Encourage people to set-up effective active mode goal-setting. Identifying their objectives, why they’re important, and any barriers.
Medium priority
Leverage Travelwise Choices relationships
Increase the size of bike paths or closing roads to cars to provide more space for walking and biking.
Medium priority
Community Transport Schools Campaign
Provide guidance about staying safe while coming back to school.
High priority
Community Transport Schools Campaign
Get children excited about returning to their walking habits by creating fun walking / cycling competitions.
Make things easy for those with limited resources
Remove/reduce penalties for the financially vulnerable.
High priority
Medium priority
Medium priority
Medium priority
Confidential, not for external distribution
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TACKLING THE CHALLENGE
Reducing ambiguity and uncertainty to encourage COVID-19 adherence
TACKLING THE CHALLENGE
Preparing for lost public transport commuter habits
Install physical prompts
Leverage Travelwise Choices relationships
As we move down the levels, it’s likely that rules such as ‘back door of the bus only’ will be relaxed and new onboard behaviours required. Therefore, prepare any necessary assets required to manage new expectations in the lower level alert levels such as where to stand when queuing.
When preparing for potential shifts in customer behaviour, it’s useful to consider which channels people are most likely to engage with. In most cases, people will actively engage or listen to their employer. To utilise this channel, re-engage with the businesses that AT has an existing relationship with through the Travelwise Choices team. Create messaging or collateral that they can share with their organisations, about planning for travel coming back from COVID-19.
HOW THIS COULD WORK • Floor markings. Clear markers on the ground of the bus and train, or in stations as to where you can stand. Similar examples have been used to encourage continued physical distancing in Europe.10 • Bus driver partition. Investigate opportunities to protect drivers and provide signal signs of safety by providing driver partitions.
HOW THIS COULD WORK • Commitment plans. Provide a simple tool for employees of organisations returning to work that will enable them to plan their trip in advance. Ask them to share their plan with a friend. • COVID-19 transport considerations. Provide key considerations and tips for new working arrangements and transport options. • Trigger for the Travelwise programme. This could be a trigger moment to encourage conversations with the team, and joining-up to the programme. • Support active modes. Active modes may be encouraged by integrating routes such as cycleways into journey planners, increasing the size of bike paths or closing roads to cars to provide more space for walking and biking, as has been seen in the USA. 12 • Alternative services. Providing alternative services such as additional bike racks throughout town may encourage people to consider active modes.
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Practical applications of behavioural science during COVID-19
Encourage sustainable travel The global reductions in transportation and emissions have had numerous positive impacts on the environment in recent weeks. This, coupled with a realisation of the implications of a global crisis, may facilitate renewed efforts towards environmental sustainability 13 and an increased focus on the importance of a shift from carbonemitting transport to near carbon-zero active modes. Highlight the momentum gained through COVID-19 toward carbon emission reductions, and the opportunity for each individual to be part of continued progress. Invigorate the audience about this positive and unintended consequence during this difficult time. There’s no denying that it can be difficult to motivate through sustainability messaging. Climate change can still feel abstract and far-away from everyday life for most. But there’s a lot of lessons we can learn through behavioural science, with researchers across the world testing what works and what doesn’t. For example, one study in British Columbia highlighted the importance of personalisation and location to encourage action for climate change. Messages involving the effects of climate change locally were the most effective, due to strong attachments to the location. Making behaviours feel personally relevant to people will have a significant impact on determining whether or not a person is likely to act. 14 HOW THIS COULD WORK • A call to action. Reinvigorate Kiwis by highlighting the improvements on the environment such as the improvements to air pollution during the recent pandemic “Let’s not go back to pre-COVID-19 levels!” • Visual storytelling. Using visuals to highlight the improvements to New Zealand’s pollution levels particularly around Auckland may make climate change feel like a personal issue for Kiwis to act on, Making the message clear, simple and personalised will be more compelling and impactful.
Gamification and calculators to nudge sustainable transport options We are innately driven by rewards and feedback about our actions. Gamification utilises this insight, giving us a feeling of gaining ‘points’ and being compared to our peers through competition. Gamification has been successfully used to encourage commitment to sustainable behaviours, and therefore could be useful when preparing to encourage continued commitment to active modes post-COVID-19. One example of these platforms locally is Auckland Council’s FutureFit app which encourages people to commit to sustainability goals and track them. Auckland Council’s FutureFit interface
3.28T
my carbon saved this week
3.30T
my carbon saved so far 10
5.7T
5
54%
0
MY CARBON FOOTPRINT 9T AT THE START Transport 1.5T
FUTURE FITNESS ACTIONS WEEKLY PROGRESS Power 0.6T
Food 2.1T
9.8T 6.0 T
5.7T
NZ
ME
WORLD
MY PARKING FUTUREFIT TARGET 5.3T BY 2025 Living 1.5T
Calculators can also be used to make the impact of our choices feel real. By clearly calculating the impact of our decisions, we can see the potential longer-term effects. For example, people may be surprised by how much time and money they may save by taking the train, bus or ferry for their commute to work. AT’s Commuter Calculator highlights the cost of commuting using a private car compared with PT options. HOW THIS COULD WORK • Encourage uptake of Auckland Council’s FutureFit app. This app, developed by the Council, gives you a snapshot of your carbon footprint. People can choose sustainable challenges, and track and share progress. One of the actions is focused on tacking how your transport behaviours impact your carbon contribution. • Use of AT’s Commuter Calculator. Use this tool to compare the cost of private car and PT for daily commuting. Further enhancements could be made on this tool, to include carbon emission tracking regular feedback, a points system and social sharing. Confidential, not for external distribution
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TACKLING THE CHALLENGE
Planning for new customer segments and behaviours
Identify and target new customer segments To ensure you are nudging the right people with the right messaging, it’s advisable to identify and track emerging and established customer segments. Continue to monitor sentiment towards PT as we move through the transition phases, and act to understand the widespread intentions around postCOVID-19 containment transport behaviours. It could be good timing to start preparing customer sentiment and behaviour surveys, as well as identifying available data to feed into behavioural models. HOW THIS COULD WORK • Track customer sentiment. Distribute fortnightly customer surveys, cut by location and demographics, to answer key questions relating to sentiment and behavioural intentions. • Mobile pulse survey. AT mobile nudge asking one or two poll questions to track confidence and safety using PT.
Reinvigorate the Travelwise Choices Working From Home campaign The Travelwise Choices programme provides a range of offers to businesses, including a Travel Plan, free HOP card trials for employees and more. One element of the programme which has been on-hold is a campaign to encourage people to work from home. It could be good timing to re-establish this programme with a view to capture those who’ve developed the new habit. The concept of experiential learning tells us that people are much more likely to stick to habits once they’ve had a chance to experience them. Therefore, people being forced to figure out their home office, utilise new video conferencing platforms, and experience new norms around working from the office–will all lead to a likely increase in people being comfortable and continuing to working from home even once lockdown is over. Consider integrating the programme with other tools such as FutureFit or the Commuter Calculator to encourage the uptake of sustainable transport options. HOW THIS COULD WORK • Ask customers about their working habits. Reverse how people typically consider working from home, and focus instead on asking people to identify which days they’ll be working from the office. For example “What’s your office day?” • Include gamification. Could include Auckland Council’s Futurefit, or an enhanced Commuter Calculator (with gamification) as part of the campaign.
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Support commitment to active modes Mental contrasting with implementation intentions is a planning strategy that has been shown to help people achieve goals in numerous different contexts, from dieting to reducing domestic violence. It involves setting your objectives and why they’re important to you (or those you care about), with identification of barriers and ‘if… then...’ plans for how to overcome them.
HOW THIS COULD WORK • Create a WOOP guide to support active modes. Encourage people to retain the healthy habits they developed during COVID-19 containment, such as walking or cycling. Identify relevant channels to promote the guide, such as working with local walking or cycling non-profit organisations.
The most well-known application of this technique is known as WOOP, which stands for: Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan. Research shows that this technique increases a person’s chances of overcoming any obstacle, not just the barrier they identified. For example, when encouraging people to stick to their cycling habits, British Cycling used the WOOP technique that led to a 32% increase in sustained cycling habits (Figure 3).15 In this example, people were asked to share their cycling goals, to identify what might stop them from achieving those goals and to consider achievable ways for overcoming those obstacles.
British Cycle WOOP guide. The chart helps users to identify key goals, assess why they’re important, recognise barriers and obstacles to achieving them, and plan ways to stick to them.
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TACKLING THE CHALLENGE
Protecting community groups across Auckland
Community Transport Schools Campaign
Make things easy for those with limited resources
As schools will be reopened at Alert Level 2, the Community Transport team could proactively prepare guidance about the challenges that schools and parents will face regarding the use of PT.
People experiencing financial difficulties may find it infeasible to tie up money by loading it onto a HOP card, or even to navigate this process. ‘Scarcity’ describes the cognitive burden of being in financial hardship. 17 With the economic impact of COVID-19 likely to disproportionately affect those who are least well-off, AT should put measures in place to support those most affected.
With some physical distancing still required at Level 2, it will be necessary for schools to manage dropoff and pickup areas to reduce the likely congestion at peak times. This will be exacerbated by a proportion of parents reverting to driving as opposed to encouraging sustainable transport options. The Community Transport team could provide guidance for how to manage this, ideas for staggering dropoff and pickup times, and avoiding queues and groups. Schools need to support the community of children, teachers and parents that walk or cycle to school. To help encourage people to restore their old active habits (or start new ones) create some excitement or a competition with prizes. Examples of this include the WOW (Walk or Wheel) Passport Challenge run by Greater Wellington. 16 Schools encourage children to take part, and each child has their passport stamped when they’ve walked to schools. If planning on executing a programme such as this, we’d recommend taking a behavioural approach to ensure you can test the true impact and success of the initiative. HOW THIS COULD WORK • Guidance. Provide guidance about staying safe while coming back to school, and preparing schools to avoid queues or groups in dropoff and pickup zones • Encouraging active modes. Continuing to reach out to schools and encouraging active modes post-COVID-19 will help inspire younger generations of Aucklanders to get active. • Creative competitions. Get children excited about returning to their active habits by creating fun walking or cycling competitions.
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HOW THIS COULD WORK • Remove barriers to AT services. Scarcity means that complexity can disproportionately affect those in financial hardship. Removing barriers– for example by making HOP cards easier to access or offering alternative ways for people who don’t have internet access to keep up to date with changing AT services–should have a significant impact on the uptake of services. • Remove or reduce penalties for the financially vulnerable. Tying up money on HOP cards, or paying expensive cash fares is unrealistic for people in real hardship. AT should explore ways to enable people to use PT when financially constrained.
Conclusion This document has been created to provide insight to inform AT’s next steps for the COVID-19 response. It demonstrates the benefits that behavioural science can provide when encouraging people to adhere to COVID-19 containment behaviours, and in preparation for new behaviours that will develop throughout this time. It offers some practical concepts to apply when designing interventions, especially messaging, to nudge the desired behaviours. The next steps will be to discuss these insights across the Customer Experience leadership team and to assess the potential impact and feasibility of the next steps.
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Appendix important notice This discussion document has been prepared solely for the purposes stated herein and should not be relied upon for any other purpose. PwC accepts no liability to any party should it be used for any purpose other than that for which it was prepared. This document is strictly confidential and (save to the extent required by applicable law and/or regulation) must not be released to any third party without our express written consent which is at our sole discretion. To the fullest extent permitted by law, PwC accepts no duty of care to any third party in connection with the provision of this discussion document and/or any related information or explanation (together, the “Information�). Accordingly, regardless of the form of action, whether in contract, tort (including without limitation, negligence) or otherwise, and to the extent permitted by applicable law, PwC accepts no liability of any kind to any third party and disclaims all responsibility for the consequences of any third party acting or refraining to act in reliance on the Information.
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We have not independently verified the accuracy of information provided to us, and have not conducted any form of audit in respect of the organisation for which work is completed. Accordingly, we express no opinion on the reliability, accuracy, or completeness of the information provided to us and upon which we have relied. The statements and opinions expressed herein have been made in good faith, and on the basis that all information relied upon is true and accurate in all material aspects, and not misleading by reason of omission or otherwise. The statements and opinions expressed in this discussion document are based on information available as at the date of the report. We reserve the right, but will be under no obligation, to review or amend our report, if any additional information, which was in existence on the date of this report, was not brought to our attention, or subsequently comes to light. This document is issued pursuant to the terms and conditions set out in our Letter of Engagement signed on 25 July 2019.
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10. Wong, Y. (2020, March 16) To limit coronavirus risks on public transport, here’s what we can learn from efforts overseas. 11. HelpTank NZ Charity. 12. Jones, M. (2020 March 23) Advocating for Active Transportation in the Time of Covid-19. 13. Pinner D, Rogers M, Samandari H. (2020 April). Addressing climate change in a postpandemic world. McKinsey&Company. 14. Scannell L, Gifford R. Personally relevant climate change: The role of place attachment and local versus global message framing in engagement. Environment and Behavior. 2013;45(1):60-85. 15. HSBC UK, British Cycling (2020 March 23) HSBC UK and British Cycling find small and simple ‘nudges’ can help people get back on their bikes. 16. Māehe Manawa Ora, Movin’ March campaign. 17. RNZ (2020, April 6). Covid-19: Taxi and Uber drivers face safety challenges under lockdown.
9. Habyarimana J, Jack W. Results of a large-scale randomized behavior change intervention on road safety in Kenya. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2015;112(34):E4661-E4670.
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