The 27th of November 2024 marked a milestone for Riyadh as the Riyadh Metro opened its first lanes, starting a new era of public transportation in the city. The metro has the potential to transform urban mobility, reduce congestion, and enhance the quality of life for residents.

In preparation for this landmark event, Dr. Mohammed Aladalah and Dr. Manuel Schubert conducted an online survey with a convenience sample of 452 respondents from Riyadh Region to explore the factors influencing the willingness to try the Riyadh Metro. Their analysis examined how past transportation habits, attitudes, beliefs, and socio-demographic factors influence riders’ expectations and, ultimately, their intention to use the metro. The findings, visualized and explained in the figures below, highlight how various factors shape perceptions and adoption intentions, both directly and indirectly.

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Key drivers of metro adoption

1. Past transport habits shape expectations and the willingness to try

• Train usage: Respondents who had used trains in the Kingdom within the last five years associated metro use with greater joy, time savings, peer respect, and environmental benefits. They were also less concerned about personal safety and more likely to try the Riyadh Metro.
• Car usage: Frequent car users expressed higher expectations of joy and safety and had fewer image concerns about metro use.
• Taxi usage: Regular taxi users anticipated greater peer respect when using the metro.
• Bus usage: Conversely, frequent bus users expressed concerns about potential social stigma when riding the metro.

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2. Knowledge about the Riyadh Metro improves expectations and willingness

• Respondents who felt knowledgeable about the Riyadh Metro were more willing to try it.
• Knowledge also positively influenced expectations of joy and time savings and alleviated concerns about discomfort (e.g., smells, noise, or heat) and safety.

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3. Perceived barriers: accessibility and costs

• Time to station: Longer travel times to metro stations correlated with lower willingness to try the metro. These respondents also reported lower expectations of joy, time savings, respect from peers, and environmental benefits, alongside higher concerns about discomfort and safety.
• Ticket price: Respondents who perceived an exemplary ticket price of 20 SAR as expensive were less likely to anticipate joyful experiences or environmental benefits from metro use.

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4. Socio-demographic factors influence expectations and willingness to try

• Education: Higher education levels were associated with lower willingness to try the metro and less perceived peer respect for using it.
• Parenthood: Parents anticipated greater joy from riding the metro, possibly viewing it as an opportunity for family outings.
• Employment status: Employed or self-employed respondents expected fewer time savings and environmental benefits, along with greater concerns about discomfort.

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5. Expectations matter for metro uptake

• Positive expectations: Anticipated joy and peer respect strongly correlated with higher willingness to try the metro.
• Negative expectations: Concerns about discomfort (e.g., smells, noise, or heat) and social stigma reduced willingness to adopt metro usage.
• Interestingly, expectations around time savings, environmental benefits, and safety had no significant impact on willingness to try.

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How can these insights help?

The findings suggest several strategies to promote Riyadh Metro adoption:

1. Increase knowledge, joy, and comfort: Public awareness campaigns could emphasize the metro’s convenience, modernity, and efficiency. Highlighting its benefits through tailored messaging could alleviate uncertainties and enhance perceptions of joy and comfort.
2. Focus on accessibility: Addressing last-mile connectivity appears to be crucial. Enhancements like the feeder bus or electric scooter and bike rental systems, carpooling services (e.g., RAFEEQ – Saudi Arabia), and/or expanding the bike lanes could make metro stations more accessible, encouraging early adoption.
3. Tackle image concerns: For those worried about social stigma, positioning the metro as an efficient and practical choice to avoid traffic congestion could resonate well. Testimonials and social proof could further normalize metro usage and reduce image-related hesitations.

Check out the authors’ full article on LinkedIn.