Who cycles more? Determining cycling frequency through a segmentation approach in Montreal, Canada

• Published in: Transportation research. Part A, Policy and practice Policy and practice, 2015-07, Vol.77, p.113-125
• Main Authors: Damant-Sirois, Gabriel, El-Geneidy, Ahmed M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bicycles; Cycling; Cycling frequency; Dependent variables; Logistics; Mathematical models; Regression; Segmentation; Segments; Transportation
• ISSN: 0965-8564; 1879-2375
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2015.03.028

•We model cycling frequency using a segmented cyclists population.•Impact of variables on commuting and utilitarian trips was analyzed.•Promoting cost, flexibility, convenience would increase cycling frequency.•Making cyclists feel safe not only on bicycle paths would increase usage frequency.•Specific barriers to women exist for commuting, but not for utilitarian trips. The decision to cycle frequently in an urban setting is a complex process and is affected by a variety of factors. This study analyzed the various factors influencing cycling frequency among 1707 cyclists from Montreal, Canada using an ordinal logistic regression. A segmentation of cyclists is used in a series of ordinal logistic models to better understand the different impacts of variables on the frequency of cycling among each group of cyclists for commute and for utilitarian purposes. Our models show a variation in the impacts of each dependent variable on frequency of cycling across the various segments of cyclists. Mainly making cyclists feel safe not only on bicycle specific infrastructure but also on regular streets, emphasizing the low cost, convenience and improving the opinion on cycling in the population are effective interventions to increase bicycle usage. Also, it was shown that women were less likely to cycle to work than men, but more likely to cycle for other utilitarian trips, pointing at the presence of specific barriers to commuting for woman. Although the findings from this study are specific to Montreal, they can be of interest to transportation planners and engineers working toward increasing cycling frequency in other regions.