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Why Don’t People Ride Bicycles in High-Income Developing Countries, and Can Bike-Sharing Be the Solution? The Case of Qatar

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  • Khaled Shaaban

    (Department of Civil Engineering/Qatar Transportation and Traffic Safety Center, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar)

Abstract

Although cycling is increasing in developed regions, such as Europe and North America, high-income developing countries in the Arabian Gulf region still have low cycling activities. Limited research has investigated the barriers to cycling in these countries. In this study, the barriers and motivators in Qatar, a high-income developing country, were investigated. Respondents were asked to report their bicycle usage during the last 12 months. The results indicated that approximately 15% used a bicycle during this period, but only 1.7% bicycled for transportation purposes. The analysis revealed the different barriers to cycling and their relative strengths. The study also compared the perceived challenges of cycling between males and females. The questionnaire results indicated that both groups considered the issues related to the weather conditions, bicycle ownership, lack of paths or connections, and driver behavior as important barriers to cycling. However, the female participants identified clothing, parental consent, and cultural and societal pressure as far more important. When asked about motivators for cycling, the results revealed that improving intersections, adding additional infrastructure facilities, planting trees for shading, affordable bicycles, and campaigns targeting potential cyclists and drivers are needed in order to increase cycling. To better understand how bike-sharing will be perceived if implemented in the future, the feedback was obtained from the participants, and their opinions indicated that there is a great deal of acceptance for this type of service. The outcome of this study can be of benefit to public agencies in developing countries that have the goal of increasing cycling use among their populations.

Suggested Citation

  • Khaled Shaaban, 2020. "Why Don’t People Ride Bicycles in High-Income Developing Countries, and Can Bike-Sharing Be the Solution? The Case of Qatar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:4:p:1693-:d:324599
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    1. Jonas Schmid-Querg & Andreas Keler & Georgios Grigoropoulos, 2021. "The Munich Bikeability Index: A Practical Approach for Measuring Urban Bikeability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Jacek Oskarbski & Krystian Birr & Karol Żarski, 2021. "Bicycle Traffic Model for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-36, September.
    3. Mona Nabil Demaidi & Khaled Al-Sahili, 2021. "Integrating SDGs in Higher Education—Case of Climate Change Awareness and Gender Equality in a Developing Country According to RMEI-TARGET Strategy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-21, March.
    4. Khaled Shaaban & Khadija Abdur-Rouf, 2020. "Assessing Walking and Cycling around Schools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Tufail Ahmed & Ali Pirdavani & Geert Wets & Davy Janssens, 2024. "Bicycle Infrastructure Design Principles in Urban Bikeability Indices: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-23, March.
    6. Khaled Shaaban & Hassan Hamad, 2020. "Critical Gap Comparison between One-, Two-, and Three-Lane Roundabouts in Qatar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-14, May.
    7. Thanapol Promraksa & Thaned Satiennam & Wichuda Satiennam & Patiphan Kaewwichian & Nopadon Kronprasert, 2022. "Factors Influencing Stopping Locations of Motorcycle Riders on Signalized Urban Intersection Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-16, November.

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