Abstract
A high share of bicycle traffic in urban areas can be advantageous in order to tackle traffic related problems such as congestion, over-crowded public transportation or air pollution. Through an increased dissemination of e-bikes in recent years, cycling has become a viable transportation alternative for an even broader audience. The consequences of this trend on urban mobility are not yet clear. In order to get a clearer picture, one first needs to understand the major usage differences between e-bikers and cyclists. In this paper we demonstrate how a first insight into these differences can be gained by analysing GPS tracking data, recorded within the context of a field study. E-bikers as well as conventional cyclists prefer riding on any kind of bike trail whilst e-bikers rather choose bike trail types with a larger exposure to vehicular traffic. Taking a minimal distance route was the most important route choice factor for both cyclists and e-bikers. E-bikers perceived their rides to be slightly more safe and convenient as compared to conventional cyclists.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aultmann-Hall, L., Hall, F., & Baetz, B. (1997). Analysis of bicycle commuter routes using geographic information systems: Implications for bicycle planning. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Record, 1578, 102–110.
Ben-Akiva, M., Bradley, B., Morikawa, T., Benjamin, J., Novak, T., Oppewal, H., et al. (1994). Combining revealed and stated preferences data. Marketing Letters, 5(4), 335–349.
Bohte, W., Maat, K., & Quak, W. A. (2008). A method for deriving trip destinations and modes for GPS-based travel surveys. In J. Van Schaick & S. C. Van der Spek (Eds.), Urbanism on track (pp. 129–145). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IOS Press.
Brick, E., McCarthy, O. T., & Caulfield, B. (2012). Determining bicycle infrastructure preferences—a case study of Dublin. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 17(5), 413–417.
Broach, J., Dill, J., & Gliebe, J. (2012). Where do cyclists ride? A bicycle route choice model developed with revealed preference GPS data. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 46(10), 1730–1740.
Cellina, F., Förster, A., Rivola, D., Pampuri, L., Rudel, R., & Rizzoli, A. E. (2013). Using smartphones to profile mobility patterns in a living lab for the transition to e-mobility. In J. Hřebíček, G. Schimak, M. Kubásek, & A. E. Rizzoli (Eds.), Environmental software systems. Fostering information sharing, IFIP advances in information and communication technology (Vol. 413, pp. 154–163). Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Cherry, C., Worley, S., & Jordan, D. (2011). Electric bike sharing—system requirements and operational concepts. Paper presented at the 90th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, January 2011.
Chung, E.-H., & Shalaby, A. (2005). A trip reconstruction tool for GPS-based personal travel surveys. Transportation Planning and Technology, 28(5), 381–401.
Dalumpines, R., & Scott, D. M. (2011). GIS-based map-matching: Development and demonstration of a postprocessing map-matching algorithm for transportation research. In S. Geertman, W. Reinhardt, & F. Toppen (Eds.), Advancing geoinformation science for a changing world (pp. 101–120). Berlin, Germany: Springer.
De Hartog, J. J., Boogaard, H., Nijland, H., & Hoek, G. (2010). Do the health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks? Environmental Health Perspectives, 118(8), 1109–1116.
DeMaio, P. (2009). Bike-sharing: History, impacts, models of provision, and future. Journal of Public Transportation, 12(4), 41–56.
Dill, J. (2009). Bicycling for transportation and health: The role of infrastructure. Journal of Public Health Policy, 30, 95–110.
Dill, J., & Rose, G. (2012). Electric bikes and transportation policy: Insights from early adopters. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2314, 1–6.
Fajans, J., & Curry, M. (2001). Why bicyclists hate stop signs. Access, 18(1), 28–31.
Golledge, R. G. (1995). Defining the criteria used in path selection. Paper presented at the international conference on activity based approaches: Activity scheduling and the analysis of activity patterns, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, May 1995.
Golledge, R. G., & Stimson, R. J. (1997). Spatial behavior: A geographic perspective. New York: Guilford Press.
Harvey, F. J., & Krizek, K. (2007). Commuter bicyclist behavior and facility disruption. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Department of Transportation, Research Services Section.
Heinen, E., Maat, K., & van Wee, B. (2013). The effect of work-related factors on the bicycle commute mode choice in the Netherlands. Transportation, 40(1), 23–43.
Heinen, E., van Wee, B., & Maat, K. (2010). Commuting by bicycle: An overview of the literature. Transport Reviews: A Transnational Transdisciplinary Journal, 30(1), 59–96.
Hunt, J. D., & Abraham, J. E. (2007). Influences on bicycle use. Transportation, 43(4), 453–470.
Kroes, E. P., & Sheldon, R. J. (1988). Stated preference methods. An introduction. Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, 22(1), 11–26.
Menghini, G., Carrasco, N., Schüssler, N., & Axhausen, K. W. (2010). Route choice of cyclists in Zürich. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 44(9), 754–765.
Montello, D. R. (2005). Navigation. In P. Shah & A. Miyake (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of visuospatial thinking. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Parkes, S. D., Marsden, G., Shaheen, S. A., & Cohen, A. P. (2013). Understanding the diffusion of public bikesharing systems: Evidence from Europe and North America. Journal of Transport Geography, 31, 94–103.
Popovich, N., Gordon, E., Shao, Z., Xing, Y., Wang, Y., & Handy, S. (2014). Experiences of electric bicycle users in the Sacramento, California area. Travel Behavior and Society, 1(2), 37–44.
Rondinella, G., Fernandez-Heredia, A., & Monzon, A. (2012). Analysis of perceptions of utilitarian cycling by level of user experience. In Proceedings of Transport Research Board Annual Meeting 2012, Washington, DC.
Rose, G. (2012). E-bikes and urban transportation: Emerging issues and unresolved questions. Transportation, 39(1), 81–96.
Shaheen, S. A., Guzman, S., & Zuang, H. (2010). Bikesharing in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2143, 159–167.
Stinson, M. A., & Bhat, C. R. (2003). Commuter bicyclist route choice: Analysis using a stated preference survey. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1828, 107–115.
Stinson, M. A., & Bhat, C. R. (2005). A comparison of route preferences of experienced and inexperienced bicycle commuters. Paper presented at the 84th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, January 2005.
Stopher, P., Bullock, P., & Horst, F. (2002). Exploring the use of passive GPS devices to measure travel. In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Application of Advanced Technologies in Transportation (pp. 959–967). MA, USA: Cambridge.
Taylor, D., & Mahmassani, H. (1996). Analysis of stated preferences for intermodal bicycle-transit interfaces. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1556, 86–95.
Tsui, A., & Shalaby, A. (2006). Enhanced system for link and mode identification for personal travel surveys based on global positioning systems. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1972, 38–45.
United Nations. (2012). World urbanization prospects: The 2011 revision. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, United Nations. Available online: http://de.slideshare.net/undesa/wup2011-highlights. Accessed 15 November 2014.
Van der Spek, S. (2008). Tracking pedestrians in historic city centres using GPS. In S. Van der Spek, F. D. Van der Hoeven, & M. G. J. Smit (Eds.), Street level desires (pp. 86–111). Delft, The Netherlands: Delft University of Technology Urbanism.
Van der Spek, S., Van Schaick, J., De Bois, P., & De Haan, R. (2009). Sensing human activity: GPS tracking. Sensors, 9(4), 3033–3055.
Van Evert, H., Brög, W., & Erl, E. (2006). Survey design: The past, the present and the future. In P. Stopher & C. Stecher (Eds.), Travel survey methods—quality and future directions (pp. 75–93). Amsterdam, Oxford: Elsevier.
Weinert, J. X., Ma, C. T., Yang, X. M., & Cherry, C. (2008). The transition to electric bikes in China: Effect on travel behavior, mode shift, and user safety perceptions in a medium-sized city. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2038, 62–68.
Wolf, J. (2006). Application of new technologies in travel surveys. In P. Stopher & C. Stecher (Eds.), Travel survey methods—quality and future directions (pp. 531–544). Amsterdam, Oxford: Elsevier.
Acknowledgments
We like to thank Moritz Meenen and Pratik Mukerji from the ETH spin-off company ElectricFeel Mobility Systems GmbH for supporting the field study with two-wheelers, tracking devices, and funding. The insightful comments from four anonymous reviewers helped to improve the final version.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Allemann, D., Raubal, M. (2015). Usage Differences Between Bikes and E-Bikes. In: Bacao, F., Santos, M., Painho, M. (eds) AGILE 2015. Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16787-9_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16787-9_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16786-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16787-9
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)