IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v91y2021ics0966692320310097.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An international comparison of the self-reported causes of cyclist stress using quasi-naturalistic cycling

Author

Listed:
  • Gadsby, April
  • Hagenzieker, Marjan
  • Watkins, Kari

Abstract

This study explores the influences of attitudes and setting on cyclists' stated causes of stress using survey techniques and quasi-naturalistic cycling in both Delft, The Netherlands and Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The study recruited 28 participants in Delft and 41 in Atlanta. Participants cycled approximately 30 min on specified routes in both cities on an instrumented bicycle. Prior to cycling, the participants filled in a written survey about their cycling habits, attitudes, and demographics. At specified points during and after the ride, participants were interviewed about their stress levels throughout the ride and the causes of those stress levels. Thematic analysis and statistical methods are used to understand the interactions of setting (country), attitudes, stated stress, and sensor data. The top three stressors were motor vehicles, pavement, and poor infrastructure; 83% of participants mentioned a motor vehicle causing stress, 64% mentioned road surface, and 58% mentioned infrastructure. The results confirm the importance of motor vehicle interaction to cyclist stress, but also highlight some new insights on stress such as the importance of pavement condition. Speed differentials between cyclists and vehicles were also shown to be important and suggested cyclists in Delft felt comfortable to travel their ideal speed. This speed preference was supported by GPS data that showed the cyclists in Delft were cycling at speeds about half (12 kph) that of the cyclists in Atlanta (24 kph). Review of close-pass events demonstrated that cyclists in Delft were more comfortable with closer passes which could be associated with their belief that motorists notice them and/or speed differences between the vehicle and bicycle. The results also suggest that number of vehicle travel lanes can have mixed impacts on cyclist stress. These findings can be taken into consideration when designing bicycle facilities to create low-stress cycling networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Gadsby, April & Hagenzieker, Marjan & Watkins, Kari, 2021. "An international comparison of the self-reported causes of cyclist stress using quasi-naturalistic cycling," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:91:y:2021:i:c:s0966692320310097
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102932
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692320310097
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102932?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Javier Yesid Mahecha Nuñez & Inaian Pignatti Teixeira & Antônio Nélson Rodrigues da Silva & Peter Zeile & Luc Dekoninck & Dick Botteldooren, 2018. "The Influence of Noise, Vibration, Cycle Paths, and Period of Day on Stress Experienced by Cyclists," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-14, July.
    2. Vandenbulcke, Grégory & Dujardin, Claire & Thomas, Isabelle & Geus, Bas de & Degraeuwe, Bart & Meeusen, Romain & Panis, Luc Int, 2011. "Cycle commuting in Belgium: Spatial determinants and 're-cycling' strategies," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 118-137, February.
    3. Calvey, J.C. & Shackleton, J.P. & Taylor, M.D. & Llewellyn, R., 2015. "Engineering condition assessment of cycling infrastructure: Cyclists’ perceptions of satisfaction and comfort," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 134-143.
    4. April Gadsby & Kari Watkins, 2020. "Instrumented bikes and their use in studies on transportation behaviour, safety, and maintenance," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(6), pages 774-795, November.
    5. Pikora, Terri & Giles-Corti, Billie & Bull, Fiona & Jamrozik, Konrad & Donovan, Rob, 2003. "Developing a framework for assessment of the environmental determinants of walking and cycling," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(8), pages 1693-1703, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Uijtdewilligen, Teun & Baran Ulak, Mehmet & Jan Wijlhuizen, Gert & Geurs, Karst T., 2024. "Effects of crowding on route preferences and perceived safety of urban cyclists in the Netherlands," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    2. Ravensbergen, Léa & Buliung, Ron & Sersli, Stephanie & Winters, Meghan, 2021. "Guest editorial: Critical Vélomobilities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Christian Werner & Elisabeth Füssl & Jannik Rieß & Bernd Resch & Florian Kratochwil & Martin Loidl, 2022. "A Framework to Facilitate Advanced Mixed Methods Studies for Investigating Interventions in Road Space for Cycling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-22, December.
    4. Gaetano BOSURGI & Orazio PELLEGRINO & Joanna WACHNICKA & Romanika OKRASZEWSKA, 2021. "Road Safety For Cyclists Based On The Calories Needed," Transport Problems, Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Transport, vol. 16(1), pages 113-126, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Downward, Paul & Rasciute, Simona, 2015. "Assessing the impact of the National Cycle Network and physical activity lifestyle on cycling behaviour in England," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 425-437.
    2. Michael Hardinghaus & Simon Nieland & Marius Lehne & Jan Weschke, 2021. "More than Bike Lanes—A Multifactorial Index of Urban Bikeability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Pucher, John & Buehler, Ralph & Seinen, Mark, 2011. "Bicycling renaissance in North America? An update and re-appraisal of cycling trends and policies," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 451-475, July.
    4. Vandenbulcke, Grégory & Dujardin, Claire & Thomas, Isabelle & Geus, Bas de & Degraeuwe, Bart & Meeusen, Romain & Panis, Luc Int, 2011. "Cycle commuting in Belgium: Spatial determinants and 're-cycling' strategies," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 118-137, February.
    5. Götschi, Thomas & Hintermann, Beat, 2013. "Valuation of public investment to support bicycling (FV-09)," Working papers 2013/02, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    6. Weliwitiya, Hesara & Rose, Geoffrey & Johnson, Marilyn, 2019. "Bicycle train intermodality: Effects of demography, station characteristics and the built environment," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 395-404.
    7. Zhu, Siying & Zhu, Feng, 2019. "Cycling comfort evaluation with instrumented probe bicycle," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 217-231.
    8. Ying Ni & Jiaqi Chen, 2020. "Exploring the Effects of the Built Environment on Two Transfer Modes for Metros: Dockless Bike Sharing and Taxis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, March.
    9. Bentley, Rebecca & Jolley, Damien & Kavanagh, Anne Marie, 2010. "Local environments as determinants of walking in Melbourne, Australia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(11), pages 1806-1815, June.
    10. Seyed Mehdi Moeini, 2012. "Attitudes to Urban Walking in Tehran," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 39(2), pages 344-359, April.
    11. Houshmand Masoumi & Grzegorz Sierpiński, 2022. "The Land Use and Individual Correlates of Pedestrian Commuting: Who Walks to Their Work or Place of Study in the Large Cities of the MENA Region?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
    12. Rahul, T.M. & Manoj, M., 2020. "Categorization of pedestrian level of service perceptions and accounting its response heterogeneity and latent correlation on travel decisions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 40-55.
    13. Lin, Jen-Jia & Wei, Yi-Hsuan, 2018. "Assessing area-wide bikeability: A grey analytic network process," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 381-396.
    14. Kyriakos Ketikidis & Apostolos Papagiannakis & Socrates Basbas, 2023. "Identifying and Modeling the Factors That Affect Bicycle Users’ Satisfaction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-20, September.
    15. Morton, Craig & Anable, Jillian & Yeboah, Godwin & Cottrill, Caitlin, 2018. "The spatial pattern of demand in the early market for electric vehicles: Evidence from the United Kingdom," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 119-130.
    16. Cerin, Ester & Leslie, Eva & Owen, Neville, 2009. "Explaining socio-economic status differences in walking for transport: An ecological analysis of individual, social and environmental factors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1013-1020, March.
    17. Du, Mingyang & Cheng, Lin & Li, Xuefeng & Liu, Qiyang & Yang, Jingzong, 2022. "Spatial variation of ridesplitting adoption rate in Chicago," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 13-37.
    18. Adsule, Poonam & Kadali, B Raghuram, 2024. "Analysis of contributing factors in decision to bicycle in developing countries context," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 50-58.
    19. Senes, Giulio & Rovelli, Roberto & Bertoni, Danilo & Arata, Laura & Fumagalli, Natalia & Toccolini, Alessandro, 2017. "Factors influencing greenways use: Definition of a method for estimation in the Italian context," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 175-187.
    20. McMillan, Tracy E., 2007. "The relative influence of urban form on a child's travel mode to school," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 69-79, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:91:y:2021:i:c:s0966692320310097. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.