Investigation into the Use of Expectation Management to Improve Public Reactions towards Road Pricing Schemes

The objective of this paper was to investigate whether a system can be developed to help broaden the horizon for the scheme promoters and be better equipped to understand and ease concerns raised by members of the general public with regard to future road pricing schemes. This study included the determination of whether public expectations and concerns can be established by using media content analysis; the development of a system of which the comments collected can be categorized systematically; and the establishment of a management strategy to help scheme promoters understand and react to concerns generated throughout the consultation period. Using the London Congestion Charging scheme that was implemented in February 2003 and the Manchester Congestion Charging scheme rejected by public poll in December 2008 as case studies, newspaper articles were collected and analyzed and a database of comments and concerns were established using media content analysis methods. The database of comments and concerns were then categorized according to its source (from which party were the comments made), whether the comments made were perceived or supported by evidences, and whether the comments were supportive, against or neutral to the scheme promoted. An expectation management strategy was also developed using the categorized database of comments and concerns so that the nature of the comments made can be clarified and similar approaches can be used to provide an appropriate reaction throughout the development of the scheme. This paper suggested that the method of expectation management can be used as a tool to assist scheme promoters to improve public reaction to future road pricing schemes.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Web
  • Features: Figures; Tables;
  • Pagination: 36p
  • Monograph Title: European Transport Conference, 2010 Proceedings

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01351711
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Sep 14 2011 11:12AM