Potential of transferring car trips to bicycle during winter

Abstract

In this Swedish study, the attitudes towards cycling during winter in general, and in relation to winter maintenance of cycleways in particular, is examined. Questionnaires were answered by a thousand employees at four major companies in two Swedish cities. There was a clear difference in mode choice between seasons. The number of car trips increased by 27% from summer to winter while the number of bicycle trips decreased by 47%. The number of car trips increased with distance while the number of bicycle trips decreased, and the decrease was even more significant in winter than in summer. There was a difference in opinion between different categories of cyclists, on what factors influenced the choice of transport mode for the journey to work. Temperature, precipitation, and road condition were the most important factors to those who cycled to work in summer but not in winter. Exercise was the most important to those who cycled frequently in winter, and travel time the most important to those who never cycled to work. By improving winter maintenance service levels on cycleways, it might be possible to increase the number of bicycle trips during winter by 18%, representing a corresponding decrease in the number of car trips of 6%. To increase cycling during winter, snow clearance was found to be the most important maintenance measure. Skid control was not considered as important for the choice of mode, although important to attend to for safety reasons.