Eva Heinen

Impact of New Transport Infrastructure on Walking, Cycling, and Physical Activity.

Introduction Walking and cycling bring health and environmental benefits, but there is little robust evidence that changing the built environment promotes these activities in populations. This study evaluated the effects of new transport infrastructure on active commuting and physical activity. Study design Quasi-experimental analysis nested within a cohort study. Setting/participants Four hundred and sixty-nine adult commuters, recruited through a predominantly workplace-based strategy, who lived within 30 kilometers of Cambridge, United Kingdom and worked in areas of the city to be served by the new transport infrastructure. Intervention The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway opened in 2011 and comprised a new bus network and a traffic-free walking and cycling route. Exposure to the intervention was defined using the shortest distance from each participant’s home to the busway. Main outcome measures Change in weekly time spent in active commuting between 2009 and 2012, measured by validated 7-day recall instrument. Secondary outcomes were changes in total weekly time spent walking and cycling and in recreational and overall physical activity, measured using the validated Recent Physical Activity Questionnaire. Data were analyzed in 2014. Results In multivariable multinomial regression models—adjusted for potential sociodemographic, geographic, health, and workplace confounders; baseline active commuting; and home or work relocation—exposure to the busway was associated with a significantly greater likelihood of an increase in weekly cycle commuting time (relative risk ratio=1.34, 95% CI=1.03, 1.76) and with an increase in overall time spent in active commuting among the least active commuters at baseline (relative risk ratio=1.76, 95% CI=1.16, 2.67). The study found no evidence of changes in recreational or overall physical activity. Conclusions Providing new sustainable transport infrastructure was effective in promoting an increase in active commuting. These findings provide new evidence to support reconfiguring transport systems as part of public health improvement strategies.

Causal pathways linking environmental change with health behaviour change: Natural experimental study of new transport infrastructure and cycling to work

Background Mechanisms linking changes to the environment with changes in physical activity are poorly understood. Insights into mechanisms of interventions can help strengthen causal attribution and improve understanding of divergent response patterns. We examined the causal pathways linking exposure to new transport infrastructure with changes in cycling to work. Methods We used baseline (2009) and follow-up (2012) data (N = 469) from the Commuting and Health in Cambridge natural experimental study (Cambridge, UK). Exposure to new infrastructure in the form of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway was defined using residential proximity. Mediators studied were changes in perceptions of the route to work, theory of planned behaviour constructs and self-reported use of the new infrastructure. Outcomes were modelled as an increase, decrease or no change in weekly cycle commuting time. We used regression analyses to identify combinations of mediators forming potential pathways between exposure and outcome. We then tested these pathways in a path model and stratified analyses by baseline level of active commuting. Results We identified changes in perceptions of the route to work, and use of the cycle path, as potential mediators. Of these potential mediators, only use of the path significantly explained (85%) the effect of the infrastructure in increasing cycling. Path use also explained a decrease in cycling among more active commuters. Conclusion The findings strengthen the causal argument that changing the environment led to changes in health-related behaviour via use of the new infrastructure, but also show how some commuters may have spent less time cycling as a result.

Multimodal Commuting to Work by Public Transport and Bicycle: Attitudes Toward Mode Choice

Public transport and cycling often are combined in one trip. However, this combination has not attracted much research attention. Existing research has identified several hard factors that may explain the combined use of public transport and bicycle: station accessibility, distance to the station, and bicycle facilities at stations. Even though the effect of attitudes toward mode choice is widely acknowledged, the authors are not aware of any study that analyzes this effect on the combined use of bicycle and public transport. The effect of attitudes on the decision to commute by both public transport and bicycle was investigated. Results indicated that public transport–bicycle commuters differed significantly from those who commuted by only car, public transport, or bicycle. Nevertheless, public transport–bicycle commuters shared similarities with public transport commuters (who did not cycle to or from the station) and bicycle commuters. Public transport commuters had a more positive attitude toward car commuting and a less favorable attitude toward cycling, and bicycle commuters had a more positive attitude toward cycling and a less favorable attitude toward public transport than did public transport–bicycle commuters. Public transport–bicycle commuters also shared most beliefs about public transport with public transport commuters and shared beliefs about cycling with bicycle commuters and public transport commuters but differed on several characteristics. Nevertheless, differences between the groups were significant and indicated that commuters who used both public transport and a bicycle in one trip were different from single-mode commuters.

Does exposure to new transport infrastructure result in modal shifts? Patterns of change in commute mode choices in a four-year quasi-experimental cohort study

Background Intervention studies suggest that changing the built environment may encourage a modal shift from car travel towards active travel. However, little is known about the detail of patterns of changes in travel behaviour. Method Adult commuters working in Cambridge (UK) completed annual questionnaires between 2009 and 2012. Commuting was assessed using a validated seven-day travel-to-work record. The intervention consisted of the opening of a guided busway with a path for walking and cycling in 2011. Exposure to the intervention was defined as the negative of the square root of the shortest road distance from home to the busway. We investigated the association between exposure to the intervention and specific modal shifts and patterns of change, along with individual mode choice patterns over the entire four-year period. Results Five groups of patterns of change were found in our in-depth explorations: (1) no change, (2) a full modal shift, (3) a partial modal shift, (4) non-stable but patterned behaviour, and (5) complicated or apparently random patterns. A minority of participants had a directed change of either a full modal shift or, more commonly, a partial modal shift, whereas a large proportion showed a highly variable pattern. No significant associations were found between exposure to the intervention and specific modal shifts or patterns of change. Conclusion Our analyses revealed a large diversity in (changes in) travel behaviour patterns over time, and showed that the intervention did not result in one specific pattern of behaviour change or produce only full modal shifts. These insights are important for improving the measurement of travel behaviour, improving our understanding of how changes in travel behaviour patterns occur, and fully capturing the potential impacts of interventions.

A push to cycling—exploring the e-bike's role in overcoming barriers to bicycle use with a survey and an intervention study

ABSTRACT In Norway, as in many countries, there is a political goal to increase bicycle use. The electric bicycle (e-bike) is a promising tool for achieving this goal, given the hilliness of the country. However, little is yet known about the deterrents of cycling in Norway in general, and in particular how the purchase of an e-bike could be stimulated. In the current study, 5500 respondents from a convenience sample among car owners were asked about their perceptions of bicycling in general, and of e-bikes in particular as well as their willingness to pay (WTP) for an e-bike. Randomly selected participants (N = 66) were given access to an e-bike for a limited time (2 or 4 weeks). A second questionnaire captured the same perceptions and WTP post-intervention. The results were compared with a control group (N = 214). The results showed that those who cycle the least were most interested in buying an e-bike and that prior knowledge of the e-bike corresponded with a higher desire to buy one. Pro-environmental values did not predict interest in e-bikes, neither did norms and attitudes toward cycling. The WTP for an e-bike increased after having experienced the benefits for those who used an e-bike compared to those who did not. Price reduction of the e-bike (e.g. VAT exemption), spread of knowledge among the wider population, and actions to offer an e-bike experience may therefore be effective strategies for further expansion of the e-bike in the transport system and thereby to increase bicycle use in Norway.

Understanding resident satisfaction with involvement in highway planning: in-depth interviews during a highway planning process in the Netherlands

This study investigates resident satisfaction with provided involvement activities during highway planning processes, with particular attention given to the planned Southern Ring Road highway project in Groningen, the Netherlands. In-depth interviews with 38 residents living in the project area reveal important themes contributing to satisfaction. Satisfaction with passive information activities is motivated by the extent to which information addresses concerns, but (dis)trust in government and other information sources also plays a role. For residents preferring to obtain additional information, perceived access to such information and the extent to which it reduces concerns are also important to satisfaction. Finally, for residents who would rather participate actively, satisfaction is motivated by their perceived access to participation activities and the sense of being heard. Study results show how residents’ evaluations of the themes underpinning involvement satisfaction are based on their perceptions of actual project team activities and contextual factors.