What drives the gender-cycling-gap? Census analysis from Ireland

Cycling rates have been increasing in Ireland over the last ten years, but there is a large difference in male and female participation – only about a quarter of cyclists on Irish roads are female. This paper combines the latest census data with geospatial cycle lane data to explore the drivers of the gender-cycling-gap across 238 electoral districts in Dublin, Ireland. The authors' core hypothesis is motivated by previous literature which suggests that differences in female risk aversion could partly explain the gap. To test this hypothesis, the authors explore if areas with safer cycling routes to the city centre have relatively stronger effects for females, controlling for a range of area geographic and demographic factors. Both male and female bicycle participation is negatively correlated with an area's distance to the city, share of apartments and average income, and positively correlated with education. Comparing results across genders shows that the gender-cycling-gap is due to relatively larger negative effects for distance, income and apartments for females, which is partly offset by stronger positive education effects. Routes with very high shares of separated or off-road lanes (top quartile) have significantly higher cycling rates. This effect, although stronger for females, is not statistically different across genders. The authors highlight a number of gender-based policy recommendations related to cycling infrastructure, bicycle storage and bicycle supports (electric bicycles).

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2020.07.007
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X20300809
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/29485010
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2020 James Carroll et al. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Carroll, James
  • Brazil, William
  • Morando, Bruno
  • Denny, Eleanor
• Publication Date: 2020-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 95-102
• Serial:
  • Transport Policy
  • Volume: 97
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0967-070X
  • Serial URL: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/issn/096707X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycle lanes; Bicycling; Cyclists; Gender; Traffic safety; Trip length
• Geographic Terms: Dublin (Ireland)
• Subject Areas: Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01748732
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 27 2020 10:05AM