INVESTIGATING ACTIVE CYCLISTS’ BEHAVIOR: INFLUENCING FACTORS ON COMMUTING BY BICYCLE

摘要

This paper investigates active cyclist’s behavior and their motivations towards cycling withinthe Japanese context. In Japan, bicycles are often used either as the main transportation modeor as part of a multimodal journey. On the contrary, Japanese transportation policies andstrategies towards cycling are somewhat limited. Accordingly, this paper focuses on thereasons that motivate people to cycle, even though the cycling system is yet to achieve higherlevels of service. Results of behavioral and statistical analyses are discussed with a focus onunimodal commuting trips. In the behavioral analysis, commuters’ views on cycling arepresented. In the statistical analysis, discrete choice models are estimated to assess factorswith strong influence on cycling. The findings of the models suggest that single householdtype influences the choice of non-motorized modes and that having a car is not verysignificant when choosing to cycle. People who cycle regularly to perform other activitiesand those who practice physical exercises regularly are more likely to commute by bicycle.The possibility of sharing sidewalk space with pedestrians appears to have a strong positiveimpact on cycling. In addition, longer distances to public transport stations motivate the useof bicycle in multimodal journeys. This paper contributes to further understanding activecyclists’ behavior. It also produces insightful information that can be used by transportplanners and government bodies in Japan and elsewhere when planning for more cycling19friendly cities.