Barriers and motivators to bicycle in low cycling maturity cities: Lisbon case study

November 11, 2019

Cities with low cycling development and maturity are cities with a small cycling modal share and few cycling infrastructures and facilities. This type of cities has been little addressed in research studies. This research explores the motivators and deterrents to cycling adoption in cities with low cycling maturity (LCM), by addressing a population that does not bicycle. The challenge is to measure and model the key factors that lead to a behavior change, in order to start cycling. Lisbon, Portugal, is an LCM city and the case study. Its cycling modal share is below 1%. A survey asked participants about their mobility patterns, their attitude towards cycling, their personality and willingness to change to bicycle, and the individual housing situation. Barriers, motivators and triggers to start cycling were compared between cyclists and non-cyclists. The results show that both groups consider the issues related to the perception of safety, physical effort, the lack of a safe cycling network, and bicycle ownership as important barriers to take up cycling. Barriers perceived by non-cyclists are similar to the barriers cyclists had before they changed behavior. In contrast, the self-reported triggers that induced cyclists to take up cycling are not similar to the expectations that non-cyclists have of what would, or could, change their behavior. Nevertheless, the expected motivators stated by non-cyclists are consistent with their perceived barriers, which are more community-oriented and not so much related to personal interests or needs. The triggers for cycling, for different generations of cyclists, were analyzed taking into consideration specific public policies and infrastructure investments that encourage bicycling and were implemented in recent years. The results show that triggers vary over time, and that they should also change as cities transition to higher cycling maturity levels. Based on the Transtheoretical Model of Change, sub-groups of potential cyclists were identified, based on their stated willingness to change to bicycle, and were characterized according to sociodemographic variables, personality traits, and cycling experience. The probability of changing from stages of “Pessimists” to “Optimists,” to “Enthusiasts,” and, finally, to “Cyclists” was modeled with binary logit models. The results suggest that the impacts of cycling infrastructure and equipment are higher on the definition of the membership to the earlier stages of change; while the facilities and practical needs have more prominent effects on the belongingness to the middle stages, closer to cycling; and that the individual’s social influence and personal concerns provide a final push to change behavior and take up cycling. A Pyramid of Cycling Needs was proposed based on the results of the modeling process of needs to transition to bicycling. The pyramid summarizes the hierarchy of needs to cycling, informing which interventions and policies can have impact, and to whom, on the probability to belong to each stage of change towards cycling, and thus, rising cycling levels if those needs are suppressed. Recent municipal cycling improvements in Lisbon were an opportunity to measure how much the investment in the expansion of a commuting-oriented cycling infrastructure and the implementation of an electric bike-sharing program can potentially impact levels of cycling, and how such measures contribute to overcoming barriers for bicycle adoption. From the observations of cyclists – prior and afterward the interventions –, the results suggest that these types of improvements are a game-changer to start the process of a city’s progression towards higher cycling maturity levels, mainly if they are implemented in a city with almost no cycling modal share, such as this research case study. The results and conclusions of this thesis are a contribution towards understanding how to significantly increase bicycle modal share from near zero in cities with low cycling maturity levels, and how a city can transition to a higher maturity level adopting an approach of targeted policies to different population groups that are willing to bicycle but have different needs. This research provides insights to the cycling decision-making process to encourage people that do not bicycle to progressively change their behavior, potentially shifting to cycling. As cidades com baixa maturidade ciclável são cidades com reduzido número de viagens realizadas em bicicleta e poucas infraestruturas cicláveis. Apesar do recente crescimento do interesse público na bicicleta como modo de transporte, este tipo de cidades são ainda muito comuns no mundo ocidental, e poucos estudos têm sido realizados sobre as mesmas. Esta investigação explora as barreiras e motivadores para a adoção da bicicleta em Lisboa, uma cidade com uma quota modal de menos de 1%. O desafio é medir e modelar os fatores-chave que levam a uma mudança de comportamento, para o uso da bicicleta. Foi realizado um inquérito dirigido a ciclistas e não-ciclistas que questionou os participantes sobre os seus padrões de mobilidade; as suas atitudes em relação ao uso da bicicleta; a sua personalidade e motivação para usar a bicicleta; para além das suas características socio-demográficas e condições da sua habitação. As suas respostas de preferências declaradas permitiram comparar as barreiras, motivadores e fatores que levam a começar a usar a bicicleta, entre ciclistas e não ciclistas. Os resultados mostram que ambos os grupos consideram as questões relacionadas com a perceção de segurança, esforço, falta de uma rede ciclável segura e o facto de não ter uma bicicleta como barreiras relevantes à utilização deste modo em Lisboa. Concluiu-se que as barreiras percecionadas pelos nãociclistas são semelhantes às barreiras que os atuais ciclistas tinham antes de começar a usar a bicicleta como modo de transporte. Por outro lado, os fatores que levaram os ciclistas a usar a bicicleta não são semelhantes às expectativas de estímulos que os não-ciclistas afirmam que os levariam a mudar para este modo ativo. Em todo o caso, as barreiras e motivadores dos não-ciclistas estão fortemente relacionadas. Foram também analisados os fatores que desencadearam a alteração de comportamento modal, para diferentes períodos de tempo, tendo em conta as políticas públicas de promoção da bicicleta e investimentos em infraestruturas que decorreram nos últimos anos. Os resultados mostram que os fatores que desencadeiam a transferência para a bicicleta variam entre os períodos temporais de análise e é expectável que variem também com a transição das cidades entre níveis de maturidade ciclável.

Authors in the community:

• 

  R

  Rosa Melo Félix

  ist155593

  Affiliations and sources

  IST > DECivil > CERIS

  Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Engenharia Civil para a Sustentabilidade

  IST > CESUR

  Centro de Sistemas Urbanos e Regionais

Supervisors of this institution:

• 

  F

  Filipe Manuel Mercier Vilaça e Moura

  ist14188

101635630

Doutoramento em Sistemas de Transportes

civil-engineering - Civil engineering

Keywords

• Bicicleta
• Barreiras e motivadores
• Escolha modal
• Mudança comportamental
• Cidades de baixa maturidade ciclável
• Cycling
• Barriers and motivators
• Modal choice
• Travel behavior
• Low cycling maturity cities

eng - English

Instituto Superior Técnico

Financing entity

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia