What Is It About Bicycling? Evidence from Davis, California

Enjoyment of alternatives to driving can make up for what are often longer travel times in the mode choice calculus. In particular, studies show that liking of bicycling is a significant predictor of bicycling, but few studies have systematically explored what it is about bicycling that people like. In this paper we begin to fill the gap by first examining the relationship between beliefs about bicycling and liking of bicycling using data from the annual Campus Travel Survey at the University of California, Davis. This analysis shows that the belief that “biking is fun” is more highly correlated with liking of bicycling than other beliefs about bicycling. This leads us to our second question: what makes bicycling fun? We address this question by exploring positive statements about bicycling drawn from in-depth interviews with Davis residents about their experiences with bicycling over their lifetimes. Our analysis identifies a number of consistent themes and provides a starting point for further research to understand just what it is about biking.

  • Supplemental Notes:
    • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANF20 Standing Committee on Bicycle Transportation.
  • Authors:
    • Handy, Susan
    • Lee, Amy
  • Conference:
  • Date: 2018

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 12p

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01656831
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: 18-01485
  • Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
  • Created Date: Jan 22 2018 10:49AM