What explains the current and future choice of modes of transport by first-year undergraduate students?

This study aims to understand how first-year undergraduate students choose their means of transport for traveling to university in Brazil and to analyze their intended choice for the future. A questionnaire based on the Protection Motivation Theory was administered to 372 students (M = 19.43 years; SD = 1.87). Financial cost was the main reason for choosing modes. Bus was the most used means of transport in the present (64.5%), but most students did not intend to continue using it in 10 years’ time for traveling to work, as 91.1% of them intended to use the car. Self-efficacy impacted the choice of car and bus. Although they understood that motorized traffic impacts the environment, ecological behavior wasn’t expressively linked to the choice of more sustainable modes. The results are discussed in terms of the need for 1) universities to address transport and the environment; 2) government action to improve the quality of public transport.