Abstract
The implementation of bicycling promotion programs should consider the barriers to this behavior. The aim of this study was to quantitative and qualitatively characterize barriers to leisure and commuting bicycle use for adults from Curitiba, Brazil. The first phase comprised a cross-sectional household survey involving 677 adults (53% women). Of these, 16.7% and 11.2% reported leisure and commuting bicycle use, respectively. Then, 24 bicycle users (50% women) were recruited and participated in focus group interviews. The content of answers was analyzed with a conceptual matrix. The most reported barriers to leisure bicycle use were “bad weather” (65.5%), “heavy traffic” (53.1%), “lack of bike lanes” (48.7%) and “lack of security “(44.2%). In commuting, the most reported were “bad weather” (69.7%), “heavy traffic”, “lack of safety” and “fear of accidents” (51.3% each). The comparative analysis between barriers reported in the survey and those reported in the focus groups showed a combination of seven of the 11 barriers reported in questionnaires. Some of the barriers identified in the survey were not mentioned in the focus groups (“poor street quality”, “pollution”, “not having a bicycle”, “lack of parking”, “distance to destinations”). The main barriers to bicycle use are related to physical environment and safety aspects, regardless of approach adopted and purpose of use.
Highlights
Barriers to bicycle use Bicycle is an advantageous means of commuting and physical activity (PA) promotion
Female gender was associated with the “lack of will” barrier (p = 0.047), age range ≥40 years with “fear of accidents” (p = 0.034), while Body mass index (BMI) ≤24.9 kg / m2 (p = 0.018) and lower commuting walking volume (0-149 min / wk), were associated with the “lack of parking” barrier (p = 0.011) (Table 2)
The main quantitative results showed that environmental barriers were the most reported for bicycle use and that some occurred regardless of purpose of use (“bad weather” and “heavy traffic”); while others are specific to leisure (“lack of bicycle lanes”) or commuting bicycle use (“lack of parking” and “lack of changing room”)
Summary
Bicycle is an advantageous means of commuting and physical activity (PA) promotion. In general, bicycle offers a relatively inexpensive and accessible way for a great part of the population[1], without requiring large investments from the public administration in terms of infrastructure[2,1]. In addition to individual aspects, bicycle use can contribute to the reduction of traffic jams, consequent reduction of carbon emissions and consumption of fossil fuels[6]. Despite these benefits, bicycle use is still low in countries regardless of high[7] or middle-low income[8]. Individual characteristics such as gender, age and schooling have been related to the use of bicycles[10]. These characteristics can influence the perception of people in relation to leisure or commuting bicycle use[11]
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