Benefit estimation for different types of bikeways using contingent valuation method

Abstract

Investing in cycling facilities is a common strategy that is used to increase the level of cycling. As the demand for the installation of bike facilities increases, it is becoming necessary to carefully examine installation costs and benefits by the type of bike facilities. In particular, we used the contingent valuation method to estimate the willingness-to-pay (WTP) of additional tax per household as a bid for three types of bikeways, i.e., bike lanes, bike paths shared with pedestrians, and cycle tracks. Specifically, four kinds of modeling approaches, i.e., the single-bounded model, the double-bounded model, the Spike model, and the one-and-one-half-bounded (OOHB) model, were evaluated. Consequently, we analyzed the benefits of the bikeway in Goyang, South Korea, using the WTPs from these four models. The results showed that users are willing to pay the highest price for cycle tracks, and this was followed by bike paths shared with pedestrians and bike lanes. The results of this research can be a useful resource for analyzing users’ preferences concerning the type of bikeways and for estimating the benefits of bikeways. This information will be useful to policy makers in their efforts to make decisions for new bike facilities and to increase the level of cycling.