The influence of infrastructure to cyclist route choice in Bologna

Abstract

Due to urbanization and increased environmental awareness, lot of effort has been paid to promoting sustainable mobility modes. Cycling is one option to replace motorized transport in cities. To achieve this shift, the urban environment must be transformed to more suitable for cyclist. The goal of this thesis is to study the spatial and temporal patterns of cyclist and study the influence of cycling infrastructure to the cyclist’s route choice. Data collected from Bologna for 6 months was used to gain insight into cyclist behaviour and preferences in urban environment. The cycling in Bologna is used as a transport mode mostly in short and medium length distance trips. The results revealed the routine of cyclist in different periods – peak hours in workday morning and evening and periods with lower activities during weekends. Generally, cyclist prefer streets with good cycling infrastructure and avoid streets with intense traffic. In the suburban area, cyclist prefer bigger roads which lead towards city centre, while in city centre preference is on roads which avoid narrow streets in old town. The results of this thesis will help to see the reasons behind specific route preferences, and this can be used to find opportunities to improve the cycling infrastructure for a better and safer urban environment.