Factors influencing young Malaysians to adopt sustainable mobility modes

The advancement of sustainable transport modes is a central challenge highlighted by the United Nations 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. While governments increasingly invest in sustainable mobility infrastructure, the effectiveness of such initiatives depends on user adoption, raising concerns regarding public sector accountability. Accordingly, this study aimed to fill the gap in the literature regarding how to accelerate the diffusion of sustainable mobility modes, particularly in developing countries in the East. Therefore, this study aimed to examine how perceived impacts of the mobility modes on city sustainability, customer forces, and product forces influence the intention to adopt sustainable transport modes among young Malaysians in Puncak Alam. An empirical study was conducted using the partial least squares (PLS) method. The findings revealed that perceived impacts had a significant influence on young people’s intention to use sustainable mobility modes. Consequently, to enhance the likelihood of success, public and private organisations should focus on strengthening customer-related factors and effectively communicate the positive impacts of these transport modes at the local level. This study extends the sustainability performance measurement literature by positioning user adoption intention as a leading non-financial indicator of SDG effectiveness.