Abstract
As a clean, sustainable transport tool, bicycles have significant advantages in short-distance travel. Despite many efforts assumed in Beijing to improve the cycling environment, the popularity of cycling remains relatively low. However, the advent of the free-floating bike-sharing (FFBS) system has engendered an unexpected cycling enthusiasm in Beijing. Therefore, it is of great importance to delve into why travelers prefer FFBS as a transportation form from a psychological perspective. In this paper, 352 valid questionnaires were collected from an online survey, and an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) was adopted to examine the psychological determinants of intention and actual behavior to use FFBS. The results showed that men and car-owners prefer vehicles and show a lower willingness to use FFBS. In contrast, residents under the age of 60, residents with FFBS riding experience, and residents skilled in cycling are inclined to use FFBS; the economic convenience of FFBS is the most important attractant for FFBS, while bad weather is the biggest hindrance factor for residents to use FFBS; however, imperfection in infrastructure has no significant impact on reducing residents’ willingness to use FFBS. These results have important implications for planners to better understand the FFBS use behavior, and several suggestions are proposed to support the policymaking about FFBS.
Highlights
Cycling is widely acknowledged as a sustainable and clean mode of travel with significant advantages in short-distance travel [1]
The negative indicators associated with free-floating bike-sharing (FFBS) usage could be revealed through three latent variables: attitudes toward cars, attitudes toward bad weather, and external constraints regarding infrastructure, among which bad weather was the biggest obstacle for residents to use FFBS
The current study investigated the correlation between extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) variables and demographic factors
Summary
Cycling is widely acknowledged as a sustainable and clean mode of travel with significant advantages in short-distance travel [1]. It is commonly considered a healthy lifestyle to reduce deaths caused by the urban sedentary lifestyle and an effective way to alleviate air pollution caused by automobile exhaust [2,3,4]. The increasing travel distance with the fast growth at the urban scale is partly responsible for the decrease of bicycle usage. It is very important to promote the prevalence of bicycles, for short-distance travel, for the sake of the sustainable development of urban traffic
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