Public bicycle as a feeder mode to rail transit in China: The role of gender,age, income,trip purpose,and bicycle theft experience

A marriage between public bicycle and rail transit presents new opportunities for sustainable transportation in Chinese cities. To examine determinants of public bicycle usage for rail transit access, an intercept survey of feeder mode choice among rail transit users was conducted near rail stations in Nanjing, China. Mode choice models were estimated with five feeder mode alternatives, including car, bus, walk, private bike, and public bike. By differentiating between public and private bicycle modes in the mode choice models, the study reveals the effects of personal demographics, trip characteristics, and station environments on public bicycle usage for rail transit access. Results show that female, older, and low-income rail commuters are less likely to use public bicycle to access rail transit. Rail commuters with bicycle theft experience and making school- or work-related trips are more likely to use public bicycle to access rail transit. Land use variables are largely insignificant in this study except that density shows a positive relationship with walking to rail transit. The results on demographic differences raise equity concerns when it comes to investing in public bicycle systems. Policy implications are discussed for Chinese cities to equitably boost public bicycle integration with rail transit.     

Commuting patterns and bicycle level of traffic stress (LTS): Insights from spatially aggregated data in Franklin County,Ohio

This study analyzes the relationships between bicycle network design and commute mode shares in Franklin County, Ohio. We first adopt the bicycle level of traffic stress (LTS) criteria to measure bicycle network design. Then, we develop a fractional multinomial logit model to simultaneously estimate the determinants of the shares of commuters who regularly go to work by carpooling, riding public transit, bicycling, and walking. The analytical results show that increasing the proportion of low-stress road segments (LTS 2) is statistically significant and positively associated with the share of bicycle commuters at the census block group level. However, we do not observe a significant relationship between the proportion of very low-stress road segments (LTS 1) and the share of bicycle commuters. This study suggests that social and cultural relevant factors are more important predictors of reductions in automobile use as compared to those factors representing road conditions.     

Catalysts and magnets: Built environment and bicycle commuting

What effects do bicycle infrastructure and the built environment have on people’s decisions to commute by bicycle? While many studies have considered this question, commonly employed methodologies fail to address the unique statistical challenge of modeling modes with small mode shares. Additionally, personal characteristics that are not adequately accounted for may lead to overestimation of built environment impacts.This study addresses these two key issues by using an ordered probit Heckman selection model to jointly estimate participation in and frequency of commuting by bicycle, controlling for demographics, residential preferences, and travel attitudes. The findings suggest a strong influence of attitudinal factors, with modest contributions of bicycle accessibility. Bicycle lanes act as “magnets” to attract bicyclists to a neighborhood, rather than being the “catalyst” that encourages non-bikers to shift modes. The results have implications for planners and policymakers attempting to increase bicycling mode share via the strategic infrastructure development.     

How does the inclination to bicycle sway the decision to ride in warm and winter seasons?

Many cities are creating policies and programs aimed at expanding bicycling mode shares. Attitudes towards bicycling in combination with weather conditions, however, can strongly influence the decision to ride. In locations with wide annual seasonal variation, attitudes can radically alter demand on bicycle networks across the year. Though researchers have looked at weather impacts on bicycling, the link between attitudinal factors that might impact riding decisions and seasonal variation remains understudied. This paper investigates heterogeneous taste preferences about the inclination to bicycle for riders who ride only in the warm weather and those who ride all year long (including during severe winters). This research relies on survey data from Edmonton, Canada and presents results from a hybrid discrete choice model. After controlling for age, sex, education, income, the supply of bike lanes, and the latent variable “bicycling inclination,” the results indicate that attitudes have a significantly positive impact on the decision to ride across seasons. The findings suggest that public education and season-specific training programs—particularly aimed at adults and women—have the potential to increase bicycling all year around.     

Is the built-environment at origin,on route,and at destination associated with bicycle commuting? A gender-informed approach

There is limited evidence on the gender differences and location-specific built-environment factors associated with bicycling in Latin American cities. This study aimed to assess commuting in Bogotá by (1) analyzing the gender-specific trend of the standardized number of bicycle commuters during 2005–2017; and (2) assessing the socio-demographic, community, built-environment and natural factors associated with bicycle commuting stratified by gender. This secondary-data analysis included data from the Household Travel Surveys and Multipurpose Surveys to calculate the number of bicycle commuters per habitant from 2005 to 2017 by gender. We assessed the socio-demographic and built-environment factors fitting generalized additive models stratified by gender using the 2015 Household Travel Survey. Although both women and men increased the standardized number of bicycle commuters, male commuters show a steeper trend than women, evidencing the widening gender gap in bicycle commuting over time. Bicycle commuting was negatively associated with household motor vehicle ownership, steeper terrain slope, longer commute distance, and scarce low-stress roads at trip origin and route. Among women, the availability of bike paths at the trip destination was positively associated with bicycling, while age and being a student were negatively associated with bicycling. Among men, living in areas with the lowest socio-economic status was positively associated with bicycling, while having a driver's license and living close to bus rapid transit stations were negatively associated with bicycling. In conclusion, bicycle and transport infrastructure play different roles in commuting by bicycle by gender and trip stages (origin – route – destination).     

Who were these bike lanes built for? Social-spatial inequities in Vancouver's bikeways, 2001–2016

Over the past 15 years, Vancouver, British Columbia, has made substantial investments to their bikeway network, adding over 150 km of protected bike lanes, painted bike lanes, and local street bikeways. This investment in bicycling infrastructure corresponded with increases in city-wide commuting to work by bicycle (from 4.1% in 2001 to 6.1% in 2016). However, there has not been an examination as to who has benefited from the expansion of Vancouver's bikeway network. This study aimed to examine whether increases in bikeway access corresponded with increases in bicycle commuting, whether there are socio-demographic inequities in bikeway access, and if these inequities changed over a fifteen-year period from 2001 to 2016. Using census data and municipal open datasets, we considered access to bikeways overall, and also to specific types of bikeways (protected bike lanes, painted bike lanes, local street bikeways) which confer different comfort and safety benefits. We fit a series of non-spatial and spatial Poisson models using integrated nested Laplace approximation, with random effects for census tract. We found disparities in access did exist and that inequities in access to bikeways have not changed over time. Areas with more children have less access to protected bike lanes (RR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.55–0.87) and areas where more Chinese people live have less access to protected bike lanes (RR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.59–0.96). Areas with more university-educated adults had more infrastructure—particularly local street bikeways (RR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.02–1.21). Indeed, areas with bike commuting had more local street bikeways (RR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.03–1.27). Our analysis sheds light on certain inequities in the distribution of bikeways in Vancouver which have persisted over time, and can be used to inform policy actions to promote mobility across all neighbourhoods.     

Determination of active travel speed for minimum air pollution inhalation

A higher active travel speed has offsetting impacts on air pollution inhalation dose through higher breathing rate but shorter exposure duration. The net effect of speed choice on inhalation dose for pedestrians and bicyclists has not been established. This paper derives equations for pedestrian and bicycle steady-state minimum-dose speed (MDS). Parameter distributions from the literature are applied to a synthetic population of travelers to calculate individual MDS. Results strongly support the existence of a definable MDS, which is near observed travel speeds for urban pedestrians and bicyclists. For a wide range of travelers, the MDS is 2–6 km/h while walking and 12–20 km/h while bicycling, decreasing with road grade at a rate similar to observed speeds. On level ground, pedestrian and bicycle MDS corresponds to a moderate-intensity physical activity level (3–6 MET). Small deviations from the MDS have little effect, but large deviations (by more than 10 km/h for bicycling) can more than double inhalation dose over a fixed distance. It appears that pedestrians and bicyclists choose travel speeds that approximately minimize pollution inhalation dose, although pollution is unlikely a primary motivation.     

Land use effects on bicycle ridership: a framework for state planning agencies

State and local agencies increasingly recognize the importance of bicycling activity and as the number of riders has grown over the past several years, the agencies are becoming more aware of the need to provide better bicycle infrastructure. This paper proposes a series of empirical models and applies them to the State of Maryland in the United States, using a spatial lag approach to explore land use, built environment, demographic, socio-economic, and traffic condition connections to bicycle ridership, defined as the number of bicycle trips generated by a given analysis zone per day. A set of models is proposed for three land-use typologies: urban, sub-urban and rural. The data that drives this analysis was obtained from a recently conducted Household Travel Survey (HTS) in the Baltimore–Washington region in Maryland. Results show that some land uses, socio-economic and demographic characteristics, and transit accessibility are positively correlated with bicycle ridership. Other types of land use, transport system characteristics and income level have an inverse relationship with bicycle ridership. The contributing factors to bicycle ridership vary with land-use typology. This proposed approach could be used to evaluate factors relevant to bicycle demand. State and local agencies are advised to build designated bicycle paths according to traffic conditions and increase bicycle-parking capacity in specific establishments.     

Do your neighbors affect your bicycling choice? A spatial probit model for bicycling to The Ohio State University

Neighborhood social effects have recently become a focus of interest in transportation research, whereby transportation mode choice is not only affected by an individual’s characteristics and transportation system conditions, but also by the mode choices of that individual’s social neighbors. This study supports the neighborhood social effects argument, using a spatial econometrics approach and data from The Ohio State University (OSU) 2012 Campus Transportation Survey. A spatial probit model of commuters’ mode choices (bicycling versus non-bicycling) is estimated, accounting for spatial autocorrelation. The results show that the more OSU-affiliated bicycle riders are residing around an individual OSU commuter, the more attractive bicycling becomes, controlling for other factors such as gender, status, proximity to campus, bicycle infrastructure and attitudes. The results indicate that students and males are more likely to commute by bicycles. The probability of choosing bicycles decreases with distance from campus. In addition, proximity to bicycle infrastructure and physical environment both encourage respondents to bicycle. Feeling of safety, travel cost and concern for the environment also affect bicycling choice.     

Retail Mobility Environments: A methodological framework for integrating retail activity and non-motorised accessibility in Zaragoza,Spain

While adequate integration of land use and transport is seen as crucial for achieving sustainable outcomes, the reciprocal interconnection between retail activity and non-motorised accessibility is yet to be adequately examined. To address this gap, this paper proposes the concept of Retail Mobility Environment (RME) and develops a methodological process for identifying and mapping RMEs, using the city of Zaragoza, Spain, as a case study. The concept of RME is developed through three methodological phases: (i) definition of non-motorised Accessibility Zones (AZs), using three indicators (walking accessibility, bicycling accessibility, betweenness); (ii) definition of Retail Zones (RZs), also using three indicators (retail density, retail diversity, retail contiguity); and (iii) definition of RMEs, where both retail activity and non-motorised indicators were weighted and combined using multi-criteria analysis. In total, four RMEs were identified and mapped: short-distance environments, motorised environments, non-motorised environments, and long-distance environments. The paper concludes with a discussion on the need to unravel the relationships between retail activity and non-motorised accessibility, in order to reach sustainable planning goals, as well as the potential usefulness of RMEs for transport policy-making.     

Benefits of shift from car to active transport

There is a growing awareness that significant benefits for our health and environment could be achieved by reducing our use of cars and shifting instead to active transport, i.e. walking and bicycling. The present article presents an estimate of the health impacts due to a shift from car to bicycling or walking, by evaluating four effects: the change in exposure to ambient air pollution for the individuals who change their transportation mode, their health benefit, the health benefit for the general population due to reduced pollution and the risk of accidents. We consider only mortality in detail, but at the end of the paper we also cite costs for other impacts, especially noise and congestion. For the dispersion of air pollution from cars we use results of the Transport phase of the ExternE project series and derive general results that can be applied in different regions. We calculate the health benefits of bicycling and walking based on the most recent review by the World Health Organization. For a driver who switches to bicycling for a commute of 5 km (one way) 5 days/week 46 weeks/yr the health benefit from the physical activity is worth about 1300 €/yr, and in a large city (>500,000) the value of the associated reduction of air pollution is on the order of 30 €/yr. For the individual who makes the switch, the change in air pollution exposure and dose implies a loss of about 20 €/yr under our standard scenario but that is highly variable with details of the trajectories and could even have the opposite sign. The results for walking are similar. The increased accident risk for bicyclists is extremely dependent on the local context; data for Paris and Amsterdam imply that the loss due to fatal accidents is at least an order of magnitude smaller than the health benefit of the physical activity. An analysis of the uncertainties shows that the general conclusion about the order of magnitude of these effects is robust. The results can be used for cost-benefit analysis of programs or projects to increase active transport, provided one can estimate the number of individuals who make a mode shift.     

Spatial variations in active mode trip volume at intersections: a local analysis utilizing geographically weighted regression

Geographically weighted regression (GWR) models have been employed in previous studies regarding vehicular travel demands, but few studies have locally modeled walking travel demands at intersections to address the issue of spatially varying relationships. Harnessing a comprehensive collection of walking and bicycling traffic counts over 10 years in Chittenden County, Vermont, US, along with socioeconomic characteristics, transit accessibility indices, land use attributes and characteristics of intersections and roadway networks, this study utilizes GWR models to identify whether there are spatially varying relationships between active mode travel demands and ambient built-environment attributes. One Ordinary Least Square (OLS) model and two GWR models were parametrically calibrated: a full GWR model of all local variables and a mixed GWR model of both global and local variables. K-fold cross-validation method is used to select variables that significantly influence the volume of active travel modes in the OLS model. The uniform set of variables is investigated in two GWR models. Only residuals of the mixed GWR model exhibit spatial independence. The prediction accuracy of the three models is respectively compared by means of the k-fold cross-validation method. Results show that the mixed GWR model has higher prediction accuracy, while the other two models have roughly the same level of performance. We find that not all independent variables possess a spatially varying relationship with active mode volumes. The flexibility of the mixed GWR model that allows some independent variables to be global strengthens its prediction power. With these findings, transportation planners can dynamically estimate bicycle and pedestrian volumes at widespread intersections, and this geographical realism would facilitate local transportation planning, facility design, safety enhancement and operation analysis, as well as instilling new insights into interdisciplinary spatial research domain.     

Level of service: the politics of reconfiguring urban streets in San Francisco, CA

Intersection level of service (LOS) is a traffic engineering concept which measures how streets handle automobile traffic. It is widely used in transportation planning as an indicator of delay at intersections. The use of LOS is often criticized for its bias towards automobiles at the expense of bicycling, transit, and walking, and it complicates smart growth or compact development. In San Francisco, California, there is a political movement to eliminate the use of LOS in planning. But this movement has met significant obstacles and debate. In this paper I explore how the debate in San Francisco is unfolding and suggest implications for broader efforts to reconfigure urban streets and urban space in the United States and globally.     

Support for innovative on-street parking policies: empirical evidence from an urban neighborhood

Municipalities and planners often hesitate to implement restrictive parking policies because residents regularly oppose any changes to on-street parking space. Residential parking is one key factor of parking management because its location and availability influence a household's car ownership and use. Moreover, as more residents regularly use other means of transportation that need space and infrastructure in the urban realm, and as parking takes up a vast amount of land, municipalities are considering the reuse of on-street parking space for other purposes. As public acceptability is a precondition for the successful implementation of a proposed policy, our empirical analysis investigates to what extent residents support restrictive and demand-oriented on-street parking policies in the dense, highly urbanized neighborhood of Frankfurt-Bornheim, Germany (N = 1027). Surprisingly, despite some variations, the majority of the residents in our survey are in favor of the policy options suggested. Support for the demand-oriented policies (extension of bicycle infrastructure, improved sharing supply and mobility hubs, neighborhood garages, and improved public transit supply) is higher than the acceptance of the restrictive policies, and of policies that are a combination of restrictive and demand-oriented policies. However, surprisingly, a majority is still in favor of many of these (extension of parking fees and parking restrictions, and reuse of parking space for better livability). Furthermore, we classify residents who live in a household with private cars into the stage model of self-regulated behavior change to analyze their intention towards a reduction in private car use. Results from linear regression analyses indicate that residents who have intentions to change their behavior towards car use reduction assess the policy options more similarly to car-free households and regular bike users, and not like the other car-owning households. The findings suggest that while the residents support financial-related policies the least, they are more receptive towards parking policies than policy makers and planners assume if the reuse of parking lots creates space for other users or if it increases the quality of life, for instance, by adding bike lanes, wider sidewalks or greenery. Hence, a combination of restrictive and demand-oriented on-street parking policies results in high acceptance among residents, and the communication from municipalities regarding the implementation of the different policies needs to vary depending on the kind of household.     

Walking to transit: An unexpected source of physical activity

Using data from a regional survey carried out in Montreal, this paper shows empirical evidence that modal shift from car to transit contributes to the volume of daily physical activity. First, the paper presents a method to calculate the walking distance related to transit trips, and a totally disaggregate trip assignment model. The walking distance involved in every transit trip is then associated to the individuals' characteristics to estimate the number of steps made by the population in the whole transit system.Results show that, in average, a transit trip involves 1250 steps, required to access and egress the network as well as to transfer between routes or modes. Thus, a round trip represents 2500 steps, which account for 25% of the recommended volume of physical activity per day. Hence, analysis shows that the volume of walking varies according to attributes of the traveler (general decrease with age, higher for men) and of the trip (study and work trip involve more steps, the use of train generates more steps). A regression model confirms that these variables significantly affect the number of steps involved in transit trips. Such positive outcome, for the traveler himself, is an innovative argument to promote the use of transit that is also aligned with current sustainable transportation goals.     

Cyclists' exposure to air pollution and road traffic noise in central city neighbourhoods of Montreal

It is well known that bicycling in urban areas has beneficial effects on people's health and well-being. On the other hand, urban cycling, especially during the morning and evening commute, may be associated with health and safety risks due to potentially high levels of exposure to air pollution, road noise, and high traffic density. Few studies have, however, measured cyclists' exposure to noise and air pollution simultaneously.The objective of this research is to evaluate cyclists' exposure to air pollution and noise in central city neighbourhoods of Montreal and to identify the impact on exposure of associated local factors such as weather conditions, the day and time, the type of road, bicycle path or lane used and the characteristics of the immediate environment around the cyclist's route.A total of 85 bicycle trips were analyzed, representing 422 km of travel and nearly 25 h of data collection. The mean exposure levels were 70.5 dB(A) for noise and 76 μg/m³ for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). A very weak negative correlation was found between the two measures of exposure (R² = − 0.07, p = 0.005).The results of the spatial regression models show that the morning commute and trips on collector roads and on-street bike lanes and shared bike lanes have significant and positive impacts on exposure to air pollution and noise. On the other hand, some factors are only significant for one or the other of the two types of exposure.     

Implementing cycling infrastructure in a politicized space: Lessons from Toronto,Canada

Cycling infrastructure such as cycle tracks and painted bicycle lanes is critical in improving safety of existing cyclists and in increasing the overall mode share of bicycling in communities. However, the implementation of such infrastructure has been fraught with political contentiousness across North America. In this paper, we discuss how theories of automobility and the politics around it may help explain current active transportation planning practice. We then report findings from ten key informant interviews with municipal planners and engineers in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Canada, in order to identify how they implement cycling infrastructure in the face of political opposition. We find that there are four principal strategies used to secure the political support and ensure the construction of cycling infrastructure across the region: 1) piggybacking on public works projects, 2) using external grants and funding, 3) pre-emptively re-routing cycling infrastructure, and 4) finding support from a political champion. Based on these findings, we conclude that the politicization of cycling infrastructure is a result of the dominance of automobility in Western transportation culture. In other words, it is not the physical presence of the cycling infrastructure, nor its social and political representations, but rather automobile that is political, and a battle for (road)space against it remains and may continue to remain a major policy and professional challenge.     

Walking accessibility to bus rapid transit: Does it affect property values? The case of Bogotá, Colombia

This research sheds light on the relation of bus rapid transit and residential property values within walking distance to the system. The case study was Bogotá’s Transmilenio (Colombia). This research conducted a city-wide econometric hedonic analysis with 2000 to 2004 Department of Housing Control data across different walking distances, subsystems (trunk, feeder), socio-economic strata and time. The main results showed that, with respect to the value of properties in relation to proximity, the housing market places value premiums on the properties in the immediate walking proximity of feeder lines. The analysis by socio-economic strata showed that middle-income properties were valued more if they fell closer to the system, while there were opposite results for low-income housing. Finally, analysis across time reflects slight average annual increases in property values correlated with the implementation of the system in two specific areas analyzed. Throughout the paper, the author acknowledges some of the challenges of using hedonic modeling for property value impact assessments and emphasizes that the interpretation of the results are case specific.     

Analysis of the impact of street-scale built environment design near metro stations on pedestrian and cyclist road segment choice: A stated choice experiment

The mismatch between the design of the micro-scale built environment around metro stations and pedestrian/cyclist preferences causes inconvenience and dissatisfaction. How to design streets near metro stations to provide a walking/biking friendly built environment is still a key question in promoting the use of metro systems. To identify which general attributes of the street-scale built environment are relevant for pedestrians/cyclists and increase walkability/cycle-ability, this paper reports the results of a stated choice experiment in which eight built environment attributes were systematically varied: street segment length, average number of building floors on both sides of the street, retail shops in frontage of streets, street crossing facilities for pedestrians/cyclists, width of sidewalks/bicycle paths, greenery, density of street lamps and crowdedness of pedestrian/cyclists to understand their influence on a road segment choice and preferences. A total of 803 respondents were recruited from Tianjin, China to complete the stated choice experiment through on-street face-to-face interviews. A multinomial logit model was estimated to unravel pedestrian/cyclist preferences using the stated choice data. The results indicate that pedestrians and cyclists have similar preferences for road segments with building lower than 6 floors, 50% retail shops in frontage, more greenery, lamps between 15 m and 30 m, more crossing facilities, wider sidewalk/bike lane and not crowded. These significant built environment attributes can be used in urban design projects with a walking/biking friendly built environment around a metro station.