environmentalresearchweb blog

« Is small and local beautiful - or just token? | Main | Green heat – district heating and energy storage »

Beyond utility: how norms influence cycling

Transport research is often fixated on the automobile. Car transportation provides user benefits, costs money, and produces social costs, making it an attractive object for economic researchers of transportation. At the same time, pedestrians and cyclists receive less intention - even though constituting truly environmental (and often enjoyable) modes important for many travellers. This gap in profound research may be caused by the relative insignificance of these modes in purely economic terms.

Eva Heinen, Kees Maat and Bert van Wee from the University of Delft have now published an article that not only focuses on cycling but also tries to establish a framework that goes beyond pure socio-economic utility considerations in analyzing the role of attitudes and norms in cycling decisions. The study asks Dutch cyclists on their attitude on cycling, including both utility and normative aspects, such as status and environmental concerns.

The study concludes: “[…] individuals base their mode choice decision on the direct benefits in terms of time, comfort and flexibility. Individuals who commute over longer distances have, on average, a more positive attitude towards cycling than those who cycle shorter distances. [This] support the idea that individuals have a more positive attitude as the bicycle commute lengthens.”

Safety plays a significant but minor role. However, the authors suggest that cycling in the Netherlands is relatively safe, and that safety is a much more important factor in other countries. Indeed, in Beijing , for example,  repeated comments from residents indicate that they prefer to cycle but are scared by dangerous car traffic and shift to public transit or cars.

This study, and others, need to be complemented by both quantitative and conceptual research to strengthen the research record on the modes that may be less important in terms of monetarized utility but provide wider social benefits in terms of physical health, environmental benefits, and life quality. 

Reference

Eva Heinen, Kees Maat and Bert van Wee. “The role of attitudes toward characteristics of bicycle commuting on the choice to cycle to work over various distances”. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 16, Issue 2, March 2011, Pages 102-109

Posted by Felix Creutzig on January 22, 2011 3:52 PM | Permalink