Key behavioural challenges for AT

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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. REDUCING AMBIGUITY AND UNCERTAINTY TO ENCOURAGE COVID-19 ADHERENCE

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. 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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PREPARING FOR LOST PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMMUTER HABITS

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.

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. PLANNING FOR NEW CUSTOMER SEGMENTS AND BEHAVIOURS

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.

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. PROTECTING COMMUNITY GROUPS ACROSS AUCKLAND

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 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.