Review of Key Findings and Future Directions for Assessing Equitable Cycling Usage

Abstract

Research studies on mode shift toward sustainable transport, particularly cycling, have become more common in the last decade. Despite some success in increasing cycling usage, there exist many barriers, both environmental and societal. This study provides a review of the key equity findings to date in cycling usage and identifies knowledge gaps. Barriers to cycling from an equity perspective are examined from three perspectives: policy and planning, infrastructure and cycling facilities, and population groups. The review includes both peer-reviewed and grey papers. Using a systematic review process, out of 73 documents, 33 which met the scope of the study were carefully examined. The review showed that accessibility is the most common measure for bicycling equity. A key knowledge gap is the lack of robust measures to determine inequities in cycling and evaluate the distribution of benefits across population groups. This is attributed to the lack of measures to effectively evaluate a program or policy from an equity perspective. Consequently, this review emphasizes the need to develop and evaluate equity measures for effective policymaking, to ensure that the needs of different population groups are met. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research, given the identified knowledge gaps.