# A Lifestyle-Based Perspective on the Mobility Choices and Preferences of Urban Travelers
## 5 Discussion and Limitations
[PERSON] and [PERSON] mentioned that \"all clusters reveal that the majority of components use the car\", although \"the motivations to use the car are quite different\" [16] (p. 1305). Similarly, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [18] found gaps between expressed environmental concern and actual car use, as in the case of their \"aspiring green travelers\". [PERSON] [15] tried to answer the question of \"why are the same choices made for different reasons?\" under the prism of weak control beliefs (i.e., lack of alternatives to car). Likewise, [PERSON] and [PERSON] mentioned that \"people's emotions cannot be expected to have a real effect, if at the same time, attempts are not made to reduce the practical obstacles for pro-environmental behavior\" [12] (p. 230). [PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON] [28] supported this view, emphasizing that without adequate access to public transport or rail for longer distances, even \"car-free choosers\" (those choosing not to own a car) would not be able to maintain this lifestyle. Absence of such provisions was found to be crucial for \"car-free possibles\" when choosing to retain car ownership, even if their living conditions change toward more car-free developments. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [16] further confirmed these theories, suggesting that attitudes alone are insufficient to drive behavioral change, and emphasized the importance of applying soft measures (i.e., educational campaigns) with \"push measures\" (i.e., restrictions on car use). The lack of reliable alternatives to car is evident in our case, as reflected in the low scores across all clusters regarding the quality of the public transport network. Thessaloniki has long been considered a car-oriented city. During mobility, stated preference and satisfaction surveys carried out for the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, the main reasons for the dominance of private cars have been brought up [29]. Among these, the absence of suitable alternatives and a deteriorating public transport system stand out as primary factors. This stagnation was evidenced by the modal share of private cars that remained above 40% for the past 20 years. However, the urban area of Thessaloniki is now on the verge of a significant transition with the introduction of a new transit system that has the potential to influence mobility choices toward more sustainable development. In fact, the scenario-based work of [PERSON] et al. [30] highlighted significant environmental and health benefits from the introduction of the metro in Thessaloniki. Real-life implementations all around Europe further demonstrated the role of such a transit system in supporting sustainable and efficient transport networks, which are critical for urban development and congestion reduction [31; 32]. With this new sustainable alternative in place, there is a key challenge: how to steer travel habits and encourage the population to reduce car use. To this end, our study reveals notable differences between the segments in terms of their perceptions of and trust in the future transit systems. For example, both Eco-Conscious Social Adapters (cluster 1) and Digitally Engaged Conventionalists (cluster 2) expressed the highest confidence in the attractiveness of the new metro, which could be attributed to their high acceptance of social developments. To support this, we draw from studies on personality profiles, suggesting that individuals who adapt well to social changes are more likely to accept new technologies [33; 34; 35]. Investigating the acceptance of active travel and public transport among individuals with diverse personal and situation traits, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [36] found that acceptance of social change is related to embracement of new active and multimodal travel. Nonetheless, despite their strong belief that the new metro system will make the PT network more attractive, cluster 1 members exhibited the lowest trust in the metro's driverless operation, which was in contrast to cluster 2.