We live among a throng of social meanings. In a transport context, cars are described as symbols of status, bicycles as the toys of Middle Aged Men in Lycra, and buses as ‘loser cruisers’. This study asks ‘Do these social meanings matter?’ Do they influence people's transport practices, and if so, how and how much? The participants in this research reported that social meanings had widespread influences, particularly on their transport mode choices, vehicle choices, and travel performances. This research has implications for the ways that social meanings are incorporated into transport policy and future transport research.

中文翻译：

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社会意义重要吗？社会意义如何以及在多大程度上影响日常交通实践？

我们生活在一大群社会意义之中。在交通方面，汽车被描述为地位的象征，自行车被描述为莱卡中年男人的玩具，公共汽车被描述为“失败者巡洋舰”。这项研究询问“这些社会意义重要吗？” 它们是否会影响人们的交通方式，如果会，影响程度如何？这项研究的参与者报告说，社会意义具有广泛的影响，特别是对他们的交通方式选择、车辆选择和旅行表现。这项研究对将社会意义纳入交通政策和未来交通研究的方式具有重要意义。