Will clothing dictate transit patronage 10 April 2017 – AITPM News

An interesting paper titled “Transfer Penalties Vary with the Weather!” quantifies an important point.
The paper is by Professor Graham Currie, chair of Public Transport (Transport Engineering) at Monash University.
It concludes amongst other things that transfer penalties – the discomfort factor from having to change from one transport service to another – depends on the weather and how dark it is.
People will be less hassled by a transfer if it helps them avoid the rain or walking in the dark.
This is another example of the personal decisions we make when choosing our mode and path of travel. Our modelling and other considerations need to ensure we take into account a wide range of factors not just assuming consumers are automatons who always take the same travel options based on time and distance.
Perhaps clothing design may help.
A new project from the MIT Media Lab’s Tangible Media Group called BioLogic is exploring things such as a bacterium based material that reacts to humidity and ventilates more if you are sweating. This could be great for encouraging cycling or a healthy walk.
I’d like to have business clothing that is easy to wear and does not get wet in the rain so I can walk to the bus stop in all weather. I’d also like shoes that I can jump in puddles without getting my socks wet. But that’s just me.