Reactions and Concerns with E-bikes in the United States: Insight from an Exploratory, Blogological Study

The performance of the bicycle, is dependent on the physical ability of the rider and the rider’s willingness to provide all the energy needed to reach their destination. The provision of power assistance to the rider, delivered by electric bicycle or E-bike, has the potential to expand the role of the bicycle in urban transport. Since E-bikes are very much in the early adoption stage in the USA, their limited penetration into the urban transportation system calls for innovative approaches to enhance understanding of this mode. There is a growing recognition of the role that qualitative research techniques can play in the field of transportation research in general and travel behavior research in particular. While focus groups and ethnographic interviews are have seen application in transportation research broader forms of qualitative research, particularly media analysis, have seen less application. Academic researchers who are exploring the ways in which social computing affects and reflects society at large have been characterized as ‘blogologists’. In this paper an analysis of blog entries submitted in response to two on-line articles about E-bikes is used to provide insight into the use of this mode and issues of potential concern to the transportation profession. Consideration is given to user experiences and travel behavior impacts; non-user attitudes; road space allocation in mixed traffic; safety; environmental impacts; terminology, communication and lack of understanding.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Rose, Geoffrey
  • Dill, Jennifer
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 90th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2011-1-23 to 2011-1-27
• Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: References;
• Pagination: 17p
• Monograph Title: TRB 90th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycles; Bicycling; Data collection; Methodology; Qualitative analysis; Social media; Travel behavior
• Uncontrolled Terms: Blogs
• Subject Areas: Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Research; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01337248
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 11-3212
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Apr 19 2011 7:17AM