assessing environmental concerns, technological usefulness, and adoption drivers of electric three-wheelers in urban transportation systems

Background and objectives: this study aimed to examine the factors influencing switching intentions toward electric three-wheelers within the urban transportation context of kerala, india. given the increasing need for sustainable urban mobility, understanding the behavioural drivers behind adopting electric three-wheelers is critical in promoting greener transport solutions.methods: the research applied the push-pull-mooring framework to analyze the influence of various factors on switching intentions. data were collected through snowball sampling from 457 respondents involved in three-wheeler transport systems. partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to test the relationships between the factors and switching intentions.findings:  the results revealed that the push factors of awareness of consequences (β = 0.283, p < 0.000) and environmental concerns (β = 0.119, p < 0.005), the pull factor of perceived technological usefulness (β = 0.152, p < 0.000), and the mooring factor of herding bias (β = 0.341, p < 0.000) significantly influenced switching intentions. however, policy support (β = 0.007, p > 0.829) and personal innovativeness (β = 0.047, p > 0.163) were found to be insignificant. additionally, switching intention strongly predicted actual use behaviour (β = 0.697, p < 0.000) and intention to recommend electric three-wheelers (β = 0.437, p < 0.000).conclusion: the study highlighted the importance of environmental awareness and technological perceptions in driving the adoption of electric three-wheelers. these findings offer valuable insights for policymakers, manufacturers, and stakeholders to foster sustainable urban infrastructure development and address environmental challenges by promoting electric three-wheeler adoption. however, the study is limited by its geographic scope and reliance on self-reported data, which may introduce biases. future research could explore longitudinal studies across diverse urban contexts to assess evolving adoption trends and the long-term impact of policy interventions.