Welcome to the vCTP,
the virtual Centre for Transport and Psychology

Transport policy in the UK is increasingly focusing on promoting travel choice, through developing and implementing a range of measures and initiatives such as personalised travel planning, car clubs, workplace and school travel plans, and information marketing.

“These measures seek to give better information and opportunities, aimed at helping people to choose to reduce their car use while enhancing the attractiveness of alternatives” (DfT, Smarter Choices Report Summary).

Essentially these measures are about encouraging and supporting people to make changes to their travel behaviour.

Psychology is the study of human behaviour. It therefore has much to offer transport and travel planning in terms of theories of behaviour and behaviour change.

This is the rationale behind the vCTP. To bring together psychologists working in the field of travel behaviour with transport planners working in practise, in order to provide a key link between theory and practise to promote the rapid transfer of knowledge and expertise from theory to practise. This is done by creating close working ties between academia and practise. Essentially the CTP seeks to bridge the divide between theory and practice, generating solutions to modern transport issues.