Built Environment and Household Electric Bike Ownership

Abstract

Planners and policy makers have recognized the effects of the built environment on vehicle ownership and use. Within the voluminous literature, however, few studies have examined how the built environment was associated with household electric bike (e-bike) ownership. This study explored the relationship between the built environment and household e-bike ownership in the Chinese context, on the basis of data collected in the Zhongshan Metropolitan Area. The e-bike choice models suggested that household measures dominated the number of household e-bikes, but the models also detected a relationship between several built environment attributes and household e-bike ownership. All else being equal, denser and higher mixed land use development, more connective transportation links, and accessibility to commerce and jobs were related to lower household e-bike ownership. Households located in urban neighborhoods tended to own fewer e-bikes than those in suburban or rural areas. The availability of competitive transportation modes was strongly related to the likelihood of e-bike ownership. The results suggested that policy makers should consider built environment attributes with respect to policies on e-bike ownership and set different policies in different areas according to the variations in the built environments. The findings also suggested that e-bike ownership policies should be integrated with ownership policies on competitive modes and with policies related to public transportation service improvement.