Do Mobile Applications Foster Sustainable Mobility? Evidence From a Field Experiment

Abstract

Mobile applications hold promise to foster sustainable mobility behavior, but evaluations of their effectiveness are subject to a number of empirical challenges. We conduct a randomized controlled trial with three distinctive features: unobtrusive tracking of the control group, limited sample attrition, and a representative sample. In our study, 410 participants track their mobility behavior over a five week period. After one week, the treatment group engages with the user interface of the "Swiss Climate Challenge App". The user interface combines information on individual CO2 emissions with gamification features. Although most participants in the treatment group repeatedly interact with the user interface, we find no statistically significant effect on mobility behavior.

Keywords: Sustainable mobility, mobile application, randomized controlled trial

JEL Classification: C93, D12, Q50