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As a crucial sector of high energy consumption and harsh environmental impact, the sustainable development of the transport sector holds paramount importance in Chinese and the global toward carbon neutrality (W. Liu and Lin 2018; K. Wang et al. 2022). A recent report by the World Bank revealed that there are 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in the world come from the transportation sector. These emissions could increase by 60% over the next 30 years without immediate and decisive action (Briceno-Garmendia, Qiao, and Foster 2022), and road transport alone contributes to a substantial portion of both energy consumption and carbon emissions within the transportation sector (Lim, Kang, and Jung 2019; La Notte, Tonin, and Lucaroni 2018). Existing measures to reduce emissions from road transport mainly focus on the electrification of transport modes and the promotion of low-carbon transport behaviors (Kejun et al. 2021; Ping Li and Zhang 2023; C. Liu et al. 2022; Y. Yang et al. 2018), New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) are witnessing widespread adoption in China, with a rapidly expanding market (Shi, Wu, and Lin 2023; Vine 2008). Low-carbon travel, which means daily travel, adopting more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly modes like public transport, cycling, and walking instead of driving a vehicle, is another important path to save energy and reduce emissions in the transportation sector. The impact of low-carbon travel behaviors (LTB) on environmental improvement has been verified in many studies (Y. Yang et al. 2018). In addition to saving energy and improving environmental quality, LTB alleviates urban traffic congestion and improves residents' well-being (Chen et al. 2019; Luo, Guo, and Zhang 2022).
Resident individuals, as the target subjects of policies for low-carbon travel and the macrocosmic agents of low-carbon travel practice, hold crucial importance in low-carbon travel for sustainable transport development (Brand et al. 2013; Cheng, Long, and Chen 2020; Peilin Li, Zhao, and Brand 2018; Lin and Wang 2021; Mundaca, Román-Collado, and Cansino 2022; Yao, Jiang, and Li 2019). Understanding their inclination towards adopting LTB and identifying the specific factors that shape this inclination are crucial areas of interest in research and policy formulation. Consistent with other determinants of pro-environmental behaviors, the influencing factors of LTB can be considered from the perspective of the behavioral decision and the factors of residents' characteristics. Although there are abundant existing studies that have explored the influencing factors of LTB from different perspectives (Lin and Wang 2021; D. Liu et al. 2017), there remains a research gap in comprehensively investigating this behavior by integrating behavioral decision factors, personal statistical characteristics, and personal perception of the environment. To fill this gap, this paper will try to utilize original research data from an online questionnaire and apply structural equation modeling (SEM) to provide a comprehensive assessment of the LTB of residents of first-tier cities in China and this paper aims to offer valuable insights into the multifaceted factors influencing LTB in these urban areas.