IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i12p7293-d838736.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cycling through the COVID-19 Pandemic to a More Sustainable Transport Future: Evidence from Case Studies of 14 Large Bicycle-Friendly Cities in Europe and North America

Author

Listed:
  • Ralph Buehler

    (Urban Affairs and Planning, Virginia Tech Research Center, Arlington, VA 22203, USA)

  • John Pucher

    (Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA)

Abstract

This article examines the impact of COVID-19 on cycling levels and government policies toward cycling over the period 2019 to 2021. We analyze national aggregate data from automatic bicycle counters for 13 countries in Europe and North America to determine month-by-month and year-to-year changes in cycling levels in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019. That aggregate analysis is complemented by case studies of 14 cities in the USA, Canada, the UK, Belgium, France, Spain, and Germany. Although there was much variation over time, among countries, and among cities, cycling levels generally increased from 2019 to 2021, mainly due to growth in cycling for recreation and exercise. In contrast, daily trips to work and education declined. All 14 of the cities we examined in the case studies reported large increases in government support of cycling, both in funding as well as in infrastructure. Bikeway networks were expanded and improved, usually with protected cycling facilities that separate cyclists from motorized traffic. Other pro-cycling measures included restrictions on motor vehicles, such as reducing speed limits, excluding through traffic from residential neighborhoods, banning car access to some streets, and re-allocating roadway space to bicycles. Car-restrictive measures became politically possible due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Ralph Buehler & John Pucher, 2022. "Cycling through the COVID-19 Pandemic to a More Sustainable Transport Future: Evidence from Case Studies of 14 Large Bicycle-Friendly Cities in Europe and North America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-32, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:12:p:7293-:d:838736
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/12/7293/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/12/7293/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Möllers, Alessa & Specht, Sebastian & Wessel, Jan, 2022. "The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and government intervention on active mobility," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 356-375.
    2. Büchel, Beda & Marra, Alessio Daniele & Corman, Francesco, 2022. "COVID-19 as a window of opportunity for cycling: Evidence from the first wave," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 144-156.
    3. Combs, Tabitha & Pardo, Carlos F., 2021. "Shifting Streets COVID-19 Mobility Data: Findings from a global dataset and a research agenda for transport planning and policy," SocArXiv 2mzuy, Center for Open Science.
    4. Aldred, Rachel & Goodman, Anna, 2020. "Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Car Use, and Active Travel: evidence from the People and Places survey of Outer London active travel interventions," SocArXiv ebj89, Center for Open Science.
    5. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Soliz, Aryana & Carvalho, Thiago & Sarmiento-Casas, Claudio & Sánchez-Rodríguez, Jorge & El-Geneidy, Ahmed, 2023. "Scaling up active transportation across North America: A comparative content analysis of policies through a social equity framework," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    2. Ziwen Ling & Christopher R. Cherry & John H. MacArthur & Jonathan X. Weinert, 2017. "Differences of Cycling Experiences and Perceptions between E-Bike and Bicycle Users in the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-18, September.
    3. John Stehlin, 2015. "Cycles of Investment: Bicycle Infrastructure, Gentrification, and the Restructuring of the San Francisco Bay Area," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 47(1), pages 121-137, January.
    4. Braun, Lindsay M. & Rodriguez, Daniel A. & Gordon-Larsen, Penny, 2019. "Social (in)equity in access to cycling infrastructure: Cross-sectional associations between bike lanes and area-level sociodemographic characteristics in 22 large U.S. cities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. An, Ran & Zahnow, Renee & Pojani, Dorina & Corcoran, Jonathan, 2019. "Weather and cycling in New York: The case of Citibike," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 97-112.
    6. Roman Dostál & Josef Kocourek & Aneta Matysková & Karolína Moudrá & Vojtěch Nižňanský, 2021. "The Implementation of the Smart City Process—Researchers’ Knowledge in Detecting Transport System Defects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    7. Emma McDougall & Brian Doucet, 2022. "Polarized Paths: ‘Selling’ Cycling in City and Suburb," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 113(2), pages 179-193, April.
    8. Zhang, Xiang & Li, Wence, 2023. "Effects of a bike sharing system and COVID-19 on low-carbon traffic modal shift and emission reduction," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 42-64.
    9. Silva, Cecília & Teixeira, João & Proença, Ana & Bicalho, Tamara & Cunha, Isabel & Aguiar, Ana, 2019. "Revealing the cycling potential of starter cycling cities: Usefulness for planning practice," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 138-147.
    10. Peter Gordon & Wendell Cox, 2012. "Cities in Western Europe and the United States: do policy differences matter?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 48(2), pages 565-594, April.
    11. Alexander Petre & Jeffrey Wagner, 2013. "Green Consumption under Misperceived Prices: An Application to Active Transportation," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 80(1), pages 187-204, July.
    12. Frans Sengers, 2017. "Cycling the city, re-imagining the city: Envisioning urban sustainability transitions in Thailand," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(12), pages 2763-2779, September.
    13. Caicedo, Angélica & Estrada, Miquel & Medina-Tapia, Marcos & Mayorga, Miguel, 2023. "Optimizing bike network design: A cost-effective methodology for heterogeneous travel demands using continuous approximation techniques," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    14. Spencer, Phoebe & Watts, Richard & Vivanco, Luis & Flynn, Brian, 2013. "The effect of environmental factors on bicycle commuters in Vermont: influences of a northern climate," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 11-17.
    15. Kevin B. Caldwell & Robert H. W. Boyer, 2019. "Bicycle commuting in an automobile-dominated city: how individuals become and remain bike commuters in Charlotte, North Carolina," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(5), pages 1785-1806, October.
    16. Médard de Chardon, Cyrille, 2019. "The contradictions of bike-share benefits, purposes and outcomes," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 401-419.
    17. Ruben Talavera-Garcia & Rocío Pérez-Campaña, 2021. "Applying a Pedestrian Level of Service in the Context of Social Distancing: The Case of the City of Madrid," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-21, October.
    18. Wafic El-Assi & Mohamed Salah Mahmoud & Khandker Nurul Habib, 2017. "Effects of built environment and weather on bike sharing demand: a station level analysis of commercial bike sharing in Toronto," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 589-613, May.
    19. Amy Lubitow & Bryan Zinschlag & Nathan Rochester, 2016. "Plans for pavement or for people? The politics of bike lanes on the ‘Paseo Boricua’ in Chicago, Illinois," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(12), pages 2637-2653, September.
    20. Wilson, Adam & Mitra, Raktim, 2020. "Implementing cycling infrastructure in a politicized space: Lessons from Toronto, Canada," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).

    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:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:12:p:7293-:d:838736. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.