Understanding modal choice for the trip to school

This paper examines the factors that lead parents to select travel modes for their children’s trip to school. It does so with reference to parents whose children attend a suburban school in Auckland, New Zealand, where walking and driving are the two main travel options. Four focus groups were conducted in order to understand parents’ transport decisions. This approach revealed the significance of the following factors: perceived distance and time constraints; concerns about children’s health and fitness, as well as their competence; road safety and congestion issues; and social norms. We conclude that the reasons leading parents to drive are manifold, and, as such, a variety of interventions is needed to promote walking.     

Pedalling towards equity: Exploring women's cycling in a New Zealand city

Although the benefits of cycling are well-known, in New Zealand, women cycle much less than men. This qualitative research took a feminist intersectional approach and interviewed 49 women in six focus groups, to explore their experiences as women who knew how to cycle, and wished to cycle more. Participants, who were all based in one city, included two ethnic groups (Māori and non-Māori) and three age groups (adolescents, mothers with children at home, and older women), giving a range over the life-course and including an innovative study of Māori women's cycling. Topics covered included learning to ride as a child, experiences with traffic, topography and other local issues, feelings about cycling and taking an imagined ride. Results revealed the challenge and joys of cycling, what is normal and not normal in cycling, and a double or triple burden affecting women in terms of safety: perceptions of traffic danger; personal safety as women; and the need to be safety-conscious because of responsibilities for others. Differences between Māori and non-Māori arose in context of varying household types, access to bicycles and cultural perspectives on cycling. Participants were clear about how to support women cycling: safe and connected cycling infrastructure, and systems that normalise women's cycling, with national and local government policies to support these.     

Travel behaviour in Ghana: empirical observations from four metropolitan areas

The paper examines the travel behaviour of residents in four key metropolitan areas in Ghana with data from 926 respondents including 451 females obtained at intra-commuter vehicle terminals. The analysis of the data showed that the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) continues to dominate in the intra-urban commuter service. Also, in spite of persistent complaints from consumers about the high cost of transport fares, it is rather the cost of food, children’s education, clothing and to some extent personal entertainment which consume a disproportionate share of residents’ disposable incomes. Notwithstanding this finding, respondents’ expectation is to pay less than they are doing now for commuting within the study areas.     

Monitoring of cycle tourism on long distance trails: the North Sea Cycle Route

The work reports the findings of a monitoring programme of a long distance cycle trail, the North Sea Cycle Route, launched in 2001. The North East of England was selected as the study area and the research design included unit counts, intercept surveys and a travel diary. The initial results suggest that day cyclists account for approximately 70 per cent of users and 30 per cent are cycle tourers. There is a link between group composition and duration of cycling which leads to higher levels of spending in the rural economy.     

The impact of Covid-19 on children's active travel to school in Vietnam

This is among the first studies to provide empirical evidence on active school travel rates and determinants before and after the first Covid-19 lockdown in spring 2020. We have collected and analyzed primary survey data on the school travel patterns of 472 school-age children in Hanoi, Vietnam. The findings show that the Covid-19 pandemic has been quite detrimental: once schools reopened, the prevalence of active school travel decreased from 53% to less than 31%. Where parents, especially mothers, did not face barriers to motorized travel, they assumed the role of chauffeur. Parents who were more concerned about community infections were more motivated to shift children to motorized modes. Walking was more affected than cycling because it was seen as more likely to lead to physical contact and virus transmission. Active school travel dropped more steeply in urban districts (as opposed to poorer, non-urban districts) and in those areas where home-school distances were the largest. It appears that the most common perceptions around barriers to active school travel have been exacerbated during the pandemic as parents and children adapt to “the new normal”.     

Divergent infrastructure: Uncovering alternative pathways in urban velomobilities

In recent decades, cycling facilities have moved to the forefront of many urban-planning and climate-action initiates. Yet much of the research and policy developments in sustainable transportation are concentrated in high-investment areas, with sparse attention to travel conditions in low-income localities. Drawing from ethnographic methods, this paper explores socio-spatial inequalities and struggles for transportation space within the Mexican bajío. Focusing on the city of Aguascalientes and its outskirts, I explore the implementation of cycling facilities in a context of rapid-freeway expansion, neoliberal restructuring and public-transit divestment. Specifically, this paper analyzes the fragmented implementation of cycling lanes in certain areas of the city, while drawing attention to the experiences of low-income and peri-urban cyclists who operate at the margins of broader motor-vehicle infrastructure. In contexts of widespread spatial exclusions, I suggest that a focus on these commuters' mobility is needed to account for both the planned and inadvertent strategies that they assemble to bypass transportation barriers. What types of temporary bridges, improvised technologies and alternative pathways—what I define as divergent infrastructure—do cyclists configure when standardized systems fail to meet their present needs?     

Travelling to work: will people move out of their cars

This paper examines employee's perceptions of their modal choice during the journey to work, and addresses what factors influence modal choice, and whether people can be moved out of their cars to other more sustainable forms of transport. The results of surveys of the commuting habits of employees at two UK companies are presented and compared with other relevant studies. Ninety-seven and 88% of staff at the respective companies travel to work by car. While only 2 and 7% of respondents cycled to work, real potential for cycling was identified, given improvements in the cycling infrastructure. Similarly, while only 0 and 3% currently use public transport for the journey to work, improved services could see a significant modal shift. Overall, there seemed to be genuine willingness to move out of the car for the journey to work, with one of the main barriers being a perception that the alternatives are not viable. Additionally, it appears many people live too far from the workplace to cycle or use public transport.     

More or less travel: personal mobility trends in the Swedish population focusing gender and cohort

This study explores mainstream trends and countertrends in the development of spatial mobility in the Swedish population. Tracing incipient change in travel behaviour is important for understanding the preconditions for social and environmental sustainability. We use data from the Swedish national travel surveys, conducted intermittently over almost 30 years (1978–2006), covering both daily and long-distance mobility. International travel is included for the last decade. With respect to mainstream trends, the results primarily concern the continuation of the spatial extension of overall mobility and of the motorization and individualization of travel modes, as well as an upward convergence between women’s and men’s mobility. When it comes to countertrends, substantial reductions in daily mobility and long-distance domestic travel are observed among the young.     

Measuring cycling accessibility in metropolitan areas

Different measures of cycling accessibility have been widely introduced in transportation planning. However, those measurements are mainly restricted by the availability of travel behavior data. In addition, there has been limited comprehensive research on the importance of cycling accessibility to destinations based on the travel time or distance. In this paper, a new index for measuring bikeability in metropolitan areas is introduced. A Cycling Accessibility Index (CAI) is developed for quantifying cycling accessibility within local areas in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. CAI is defined according to gravity-based measures of accessibility. This index measures cycling accessibility levels in terms of diversity of different land uses, number of activities in statistical areas, and the travel impedance between origins and destinations. The Victorian Integrated Survey of Travel and Activity (VISTA) dataset was used to evaluate the index and investigate the association between the cycling accessibility levels and the number of bicycle trips in local areas. The index is assessed by investigating the association between levels of cycling accessibility and the number of bicycle trips in statistical areas. Key findings indicate that there is a significant positive association between bike trips and the CAI.     

Can the built environment explain gender gap in cycling? An exploration of university students' travel behavior in Toronto,Canada

The benefits of cycling as a healthier and more sustainable transportation alternative to private automobile is emphasized in both literature and policy. One key policy challenge in improving cycling rates is the significant gender gap in cycling that exists across urban regions in North America. In this study, travel behavior of >10,000 students attending four universities in Toronto, Canada, was analyzed to explore gender-based differences in cycling uptake. The mode share for cycling was higher for non-commute trips (9%) when compared to commuting trips to universities (7.6%). In addition, men had higher cycling rates than women, for both commute and non-commute trips. Results from binomial logistic regression models indicate that the built environment-related correlates were different between male and female students, and between commute and non-commute trips. Access to bicycle lanes or cycle tracks was found to increase the odds of female commuter cycling. This effect, however, was moderate in the neighborhoods with higher land use mix. Further, high-speed traffic was a significant barrier to cycling among female commuters. Noticeably, our analysis did not find major gender-based differences in the coefficients relating to travel attitudes and preferences. The findings provide a Canadian comparison to the limited international research on this topic, as well as offer new insights particularly relating to cycling for non-commute trips. The results identify potential avenues for policy intervention regarding the promotion of healthy and sustainable travel behavior among post-secondary students, and more broadly, the millennial generation.     

Sustainable transport challenges in a suburban university: The case of the Autonomous University of Barcelona

This paper provides detailed accounts of the transport patterns at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), including its motivations, barriers and user preferences, and explores the main transport challenges faced by the UAB campus. This suburban university is an important transport activity generator in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region, which is committed to achieving sustainable transportation. Results have been obtained through a personal survey (n=5525) of members of the university community. These show that the main limitations for changing travel mode from private means to non-motorised or public modes of transport are: the lack of adequate infrastructure, the marginal role of walking and cycling as a means of transport, and the longer time involved using public transport.     

Understanding women's accommodation experiences on girlfriend getaways: a pragmatic action research approach

In the realm of women's travel, while the accommodation experiences and preferences of female business travellers have been investigated, little is known about the female leisure-traveller in this regard. This study investigates one of the growth sectors in women's travel – girlfriend getaways (GGAs), which are holidays taken by females with other females. An action research approach was employed to explore the accommodation needs of all these female travel groups in the Malaysian context. Using a five-stage approach which included in-depth interviews, a hotel stay for three groups of women on a GGA, focus groups and secondary data analysis, four themes were identified. These themes address feminine comforts, facilitating friendship, safety, and shopping and the use of discount promotions with GGA. Findings suggest that the needs of female leisure-travellers are distinct from those of women who travel on business. Recommendations for hotel management are made to enhance the GGA experience for women, notably providing spaces and activities to facilitate female bonding.     

Using the land-use planning process to secure travel plans: an assessment of progress in England to date

A travel plan is a package of measures implemented by an organisation to encourage people who travel to/from that organisation to do so by means other than driving alone by private car. This paper advances two principal arguments: firstly, that the planning system and maximum parking standards as part of it are the main factors leading to travel plan development in England today; and, secondly, that the difficulties of using the planning system in this way means that there is a risk that many of these travel plans are unlikely to have a great deal of influence on travel patterns, making it more unlikely that they will achieve the predicted impact on travel behaviour change, as contained in the important study and report “Smarter Choices” (Department for Transport, 2004).This paper presents results from a survey of planning and transport authorities in England, which obtained a 62% response rate from the 139 authorities contacted. It also uses the results of 18 interviews with local authority and Highways Agency staff involved in securing travel plans through the planning process. The survey found that the planning process (as opposed to voluntary efforts) is indeed the main means by which travel plans are now secured. In addition, maximum parking standards were shown to have a major influence on travel plan formation for organisations going through the planning process. There are however reasons to doubt that all of the travel plans secured through the planning process are effective. This is because:

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Many local authorities use only planning conditions and not the more flexible (but complex) obligations which would allow more complex travel plans to be secured.

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There is a lack of monitoring of travel plans in many authorities.

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There is evidence that in many authority areas there are travel plans in breach of legal agreements, but these breaches are not enforced, reportedly due to a lack of monitoring, resources, and other organisational issues.

The paper discusses the reasons for these findings and also makes a number of suggestions as to how the planning system could be improved as a means of securing travel plans.     

Estimation and validation of hybrid choice models to identify the role of perception in the choice to cycle

Cycling is one of the most sustainable and ecofriendly modes of travel and a good form of exercise. Many government and public health authorities recommend cycling to stay fit as well as to reduce air and noise pollution, CO₂ emissions, traffic congestion, and other negative consequences of car use. In light of these benefits, a major challenge for researchers today is how to promote cycling. However, in countries where cycling is not common, apart from the need for proper cycling facilities, one major issue concerns people’s perception of cycling for sport or recreational activities rather than as a mode of transport. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of perception in the likelihood of the bike being used for utilitarian purposes. We focus on the perception of: the bicycle as a means of transport; bikeability (in terms of usefulness and safety) and of bike infrastructure. Hybrid Choice Models (HCMs) have been used to estimate the effect of people’s perception on the propensity to bike. The HCM also accounts for the serial correlation between error terms in the discrete and latent perceptions, to allow for agent-common unknown factors. Furthermore, we also validate the model results using a hold-out sample and discuss some policy measures aimed at changing travel behavior. The results suggest that, besides individual characteristics, latent aspects related to the perception of the context and of the bicycle as a means of transport strongly affect the propensity to cycle.     

From Mobike to no bike in Greater Manchester: Using the capabilities approach to explore Europe's first wave of dockless bike share

Globally, bike share schemes are an element of a rapidly changing urban transport landscape. Whilst many docked schemes are now embedded in cities around the world, the recent explosion of dockless systems provides an opportunity to evaluate claims that this form of shared mobility has the potential to alleviate common barriers to cycling, relieve congestion, boost low carbon travel, get people active, and reduce social exclusion. Drawing on a mixed methods study of 2270 online survey respondents and 27 interviews, all living in, working in or visiting Greater Manchester during a trial of dockless bike share, we explore the ways in which the technological, spatial and practical configuration of bike share schemes relate to a city's infrastructure and existing cycling practices. We question assertions that bike share provision necessarily results in increased rates of cycling and enhanced social inclusion.By using a capabilities approach and utlilising the concept of ‘conversion factors’ to describe the differing capacities or opportunities that people have to convert resources at their disposal into ‘capabilities’ or ‘functionings’, we show how the practice of bike sharing can influence a population's propensity to cycle, as well as how bike share interacts with established barriers to cycling. We find that many established barriers to cycling remain relevant, especially environmental factors, and that bike share creates its own additional challenges.We conclude that bike share operators must recognise the role of personal and social conversion factors more explicitly and be sensitive to the social and physical geography of cities, rather than assuming that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is adequate. To do this they should engage more closely with existing bodies, including transport authorities and local authorities, in co-creating bike share systems. Using the capabilities approach enables us to identify ways in which it could be made relevant and accessible to a more diverse population.     

Do satisfying walking and cycling trips result in more future trips with active travel modes? An exploratory study

Previous studies have indicated that travel satisfaction - the experienced emotions during, and cognitive evaluation of, a trip - can be affected by travel mode choice and other trip characteristics. However, as satisfactory trips might improve a person's attitude towards the used mode, persons may be more likely to use that same mode for future trips of the same kind. Hence, a cyclical process between travel mode choice and travel satisfaction might occur. In this paper we begin to analyse this process—using a structural equation modelling approach on cross-sectional data—for people who engage in walking and cycling for leisure trips in the Belgian city of Ghent. The focus on walking and cycling reflects recent studies indicating that active travel is often associated with the highest levels of travel satisfaction. Results of this exploratory analysis offer tentative support for the idea of a cyclical process: the evaluation of walking and cycling trips positively affects the respondents' attitude towards the respective mode, which in turn has a positive effect on choosing that mode.     

Mode substitution effect of urban cycle tracks: Case study of a downtown street in Toronto,Canada

With the growing environmental and health concerns associated with automobile dependence, municipalities across the Western world are investing in cycling facilities to encourage drivers and transit users to take up cycling as a mode of transportation, a process that is known as the travel mode substitution. This study explored the potential impact of cycle tracks on short-term travel mode substitution behavior. We present a case study of Sherbourne Street, located in downtown Toronto, Canada, that was redeveloped in 2012 to include a cycle track that replaced an existing bicycle lane. A street intercept survey was conducted in Fall, 2014, to record quantitative data on current and retrospective travel behaviors of cyclists (n = 214). A mode substitution effect was observed, with 38% of the respondents reporting that they would use travel modes other than cycling before the Sherbourne Street redevelopment, for making a trip to their current destination; the majority of them were previously transit users. Binary logistic regression models indicated that younger cyclists were less likely to substitute a car trip for a cycling trip. Those who did not use Sherbourne Street previously were more likely to substitute their travel mode. Improved safety was the most commonly reported reason for mode substitution. This study contributes to a limited literature by providing much needed insights into the impacts of cycle tracks on travel behavior in a North American context. This paper can also inform the development of easy-to-implement survey/audit tools to be used by professionals at the community level.     

The relationship between air travel behaviour and the key life stages of having children and entering retirement

The airline industry sets fares in the knowledge that market segments behave differently in response to pricing changes. Traditional market segments, typically split into business and leisure travellers, can be developed further through the examination of the influence that life stage exerts upon air travel choices, particularly for leisure trips. Life stage can be defined as a specific, optional event. The two key life stages of having children and entering retirement are examined in this paper in relation to individual air travel behaviour, in order to determine the primary characteristics of the associated market segments. The paper is based on a series of household air travel surveys and focus groups. Findings show the distinct characteristics of family air travel, such as higher air fare sensitivity, as well as in-group variations due to factors such as the age of the child (or children). Retirement is also shown to impact upon air travel, affecting individuals in different ways. Some in retirement take advantage of greater time availability and fly more frequently; others will cut back, say due to health problems. Aviation industry implications, both in terms of surface access to airports and regional airport provision, are also presented.     

Indicators of transport and accessibility problems in rural Australia

Australia belongs to a small group of countries that are low density but affluent, and characterised by very high vehicle ownership levels but very little public transport in rural areas. It is widely believed that there are few problems of mobility and accessibility, apart from long distances, because everyone has a car. A literature review generally confirms this perception, although there are hardly any suitable local case studies. An analysis of the rural areas of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia sought indicators of transport-related problems, using mainly census data. While the basic urban/rural distinction is clearly defined, within the rural areas patterns of vehicle ownership are unusual, and in the remotest areas are not as high as would be expected. Relationships with socio-economic variables are not consistent. Accessibility measures are incorporated in the analysis, and a travel needs index suggested. Appropriate case studies are required to establish travel behaviour patterns and the responses of disadvantaged groups.