Gender Trends in Cycling over Time: An Observational Study in Vancouver, British Columbia

Abstract

Background In cities in North America, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, women are under-represented in the cycling population, while in cities in Western Europe and Scandinavia with high cycling rates, the cycling population is gender balanced. One explanation is that women are more averse to traffic risk than men, and jurisdictions with low cycling volumes tend not to provide much in the way of separation from motorised traffic while cycling. To increase cycling mode share, safety and comfort, the City of Vancouver has been expanding and upgrading cycling routes to be ‘All Ages and Abilities’ (AAA). Travel surveys suggest that since 2013 the city-wide cycling mode share has increased from four to seven per cent of all trips. We conducted an observational survey of cyclists in downtown Vancouver to assess if cycling became more gender equal as mode share increased and to characterise the relationship between gender of cyclists and bicycle facility type. Methods We conducted an observational survey of adult cyclists (estimated at 16+ years) at three sites (a bicycle lane, a cycle track, and a paved off-street path) in Vancouver, British Columbia (B.C.). Observations were made on fair-weather days between May and September in 2012, 2014, and 2016. We determine the proportion of women cycling across time and site, and tested for differences using one-way ANOVA. Results We conducted 72 hours of observation and recorded 13 804 cyclists. Overall, women comprised 37.3 % (n=5152/13 804) of cyclists. While the cycling volume at observation sites increased by 15.5 % between 2012 and 2016, there was no change in proportion that were women over time (p=0.55). A higher proportion of women were observed cycling on the paved off-street path (39.5 % female) followed by the cycle track (35.8% female), relative to the painted bicycle lane (27.5 % female). Women were also less likely to cycle during the afternoon commute than during the mid-day (p Conclusions Although the City has achieved a modal shift to cycling, cycling has not yet become more gender equal. Our observations suggest that women cyclists choose their routes to be on facilities with more separation from motor vehicles. Extensive connected networks of separated facilities may stimulate a shift to more gender balance in the cycling population.