Bicycles are widely spread and are a popular recreational activity as well as a flexible, economical and environmentally friendly means of transport. Besides conventional ones, bicycles with electric assistance, for instance pedelecs, are undergoing rising popularity and distribution, leading to increased research efforts in the subject area. In the course of this project, a methodology to examine cyclists’ route choice was developed to fit German data protection laws and to compare bicycle and pedelec riders. Therefore, at first different methods and results from other studies were identified. The chosen methodology was a between-subjectdesign consisting of a revealed-preference approach with complementary questionnaires and a trip diary. It was tested with 14 participants (8 bicyclists and 6 pedelec riders) in Chemnitz. During this naturalistic cycling study, participants recorded each of their cycling trips over a period of three days. For recording, a data acquisition system was used to gather video and GPS data and therefore provided insight into the real use of different route choice determinants. Additionally, circumstances and preferences concerning the chosen route were specified in the trip diary. General preferences for route choice determinants and related attitudes were obtained via questionnaires. 81 routes of a total 440 kilometers in length were included and analyzed. The analysis of the different data sources mostly showed consistency between stated preferences (from the questionnaire) and video data concerning determinants of route choice. Results should be interpreted with limitations, though, due to the small sample size and the study taking place in only one city of Germany. The main focus of the project was the test and discussion of the chosen methodology, which has worked well overall. Strenghts and limitations are discussed in detail. Based on the pilot study, a manual for usage in subsequent research was developed. (Author/publisher)
Abstract