Investigating factors that affect perceived quality of service on pedestrians-cyclists shared infrastructure

Abstract

Shared spaces and in particular pedestrians-cyclists shared infrastructures are commonly implemented in many modern cities. The co-existence of different categories of users creates several challenges that need to be addressed, while it is essential to identify which factors affect the quality of service (QOS) that both pedestrians and cyclists perceive when using such infrastructures. For this purpose, a theoretical hypothesis was formed and it was investigated through structural equation modeling (SEM), based on data from 5 shared infrastructures in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. The results show that the qualitative attributes that are closely linked with the infrastructure have a great impact both on pedestrians’ and cyclists’ perceived QOS. More specifically, the pavement quality is essential for both road user categories, while cyclists consider also urban equipment, lighting and traffic signals to be very important. Moreover, users’ demographic characteristics and cyclists’ previous experience from shared infrastructures significantly affects their perceptions. Finally, cyclists’ behavior in shared infrastructures has an impact on the QOS that both pedestrians and cyclists perceive. The findings of this paper pave the way for a more holistic assessment of pedestrians-cyclists shared infrastructures and provide guidance in researchers and practitioners for designing and managing infrastructures that meet users’ needs.