Abstract

The following research concerns the determinants and deterrents to cycling.

A pilot survey of 41 Sydney women (who owned and/or had access to a bicycle and had an interest in cycling, but did not cycle very much or did not cycle at all) was undertaken to ascertain if a relationship existed between the availability of on-road and off-road cycle ways and the use of bicycles by women.

A qualitative questionnaire was used to interview the respondents face to face or by telephone.

The major deterrent to cycling was a lack of bicycle facilities (36%) followed by a perceived lack of safety when riding on the road (32%).

A total of 80% of respondents considered that the provision of safe cycleways would be the major determinant to encourage cycling.

Introduction

Previous research concerning the determinants and deterrents to cycling of women has been conducted in the UK, USA and Tunisia.

Cleary (1996) from the UK, considered the reasons for women not cycling much as being due to the macho image of cycling, the lack of clothing and cycle equipment for women cyclists, bike promotion highlighting male ideals in cycling, women’s fear of cycle maintenance, the inability to carry out traditional tasks on bikes such as shopping and child escort and the need for good quality bicycle infrastructure.

Thaden (1996) from the USA, also presenting at the Velo City conference discussed ideas that can be used to increase women’s cycling rates. These suggestions included having female only bike rides, having bicycle products specifically designed for women and bicycle magazines including a women’s cycling column.

Khadouja (2000) raises the question of poor bicycle use by women in Tunisia. In Tunisia women can easily ride bicycles as they can afford to buy them and their religion and clothing does not restrict cycling. Women have the same rights and employment opportunities as men and do not require permission before traveling which makes bicycle use possible. Khadouja raises the question that even though women have the possibility to ride bicycles due to their position in society, they do not seem to ride bicycles for unknown reasons.

None of this research however, considered the issue of the availability of cycling facilities and how this might effect the amount of cycling undertaken by women.

A pilot survey of Sydney women was undertaken to ascertain if a relationship existed between the availability of on-road and off-road cycle ways and the use of bicycles by women.

Method

Subjects

The subjects were women who:

i) owned and/or had access to a bicycle and

ii) had an interest in cycling but did not cycle very much or did not cycle at all

A total of 51% (n=21) of respondents had mountain bikes, followed by 22% (n=9) having hybrid bikes, 17% (n=7) had racing bikes and one respondent had a girls’ bike.

Bicycle use was predominantly for recreation (n=20), followed by commuting (n=12), for exercise (n=7), for shopping (n=1) and for relaxation (n=1).

The respondents ranged in age from 24 years old to 56 years old with the mean age of 37 years. The breakdown of the age range was 24 – 30 years (n=12), 31-40 years (n=14), 41 – 50 years (n=11), and over 50 years (n=4).

Forty one survey participants lived in Sydney and were office workers. This classification of participants was considered to represent women who had greater economic and social possibilities to cycle.

Of the sample, 40 women worked in paid employment. Of these, five women worked up to 40 hours per week, 12 worked between 45-50 hours per week, 11 worked between 54-65 hours per week and 12 worked between 70-80 hours per week. One woman had stopped working in paid employment due to the birth of her child.

Household duties per week accounted for 5-16 hours with the mean time for household duties being 10.5 hours.

Procedure

A qualitative questionnaire was designed based on the issues from previous research (Cleary, 1996; Thaden, 1996; Khadouja, 2000). A copy of the questionnaire is included in Appendix 1.

The subjects were obtained through e-mails forwarded via various mailing groups which included private companies, bicycle groups and State Government Departments.

The researcher interviewed all the subjects.

The questionnaire was conducted face to face if time permitted (n=20) or by telephone (n=21). Face to face interviews took between 30 - 60 minutes to complete with the mean time being 40 minutes. The phone interviews took between 30 - 60 minutes to complete with the mean being 38 minutes.

The interviews were conducted in the morning (10am- noon n=13), afternoon (12 noon - 5pm n=15) and night (5pm-10pm n=13).

The interviews occurred in the winter month of June where the temperature range is between 9 degrees Celcius and 17 degrees Celcius (mean 13 degrees Celcius).

June was chosen as the month to conduct the survey as this is a non-holiday period and it was believed that this time would give a description on how cycling effected the respondents day to day living.

Analysis

Being a pilot study only and having a small data set, analysis consisted of raw numbers and percentages.

Results

Using verbatim responses (Appendix 2) a coding frame was developed to classify responses. Definitions of coding frame terms are in Appendix 3.

Table 1: Deterrents to Cycling in Priority Order

Response

Major Deterrent

Second Deterrent

Third Deterrent

Bike Design and Bike Equipment

(n=2)

15%

(n=5)

Lack of Bicycle Facilities

36%

(n=15)

31%

(n=12)

18%

(n=6)

Lifestyle Choice

15%

(n=6)

21%

(n=8)

26%

(n=9)

Individual’s Safety Concerns

10%

(n=4)

13%

(n=5)

(n=2)

Lack of On-Road Safety

32%

(n=13)

18%

(n=7)

26%

(n=9)

Bicycle Parking Facilities

(n=1)

(n=3)

(n=2)

Too Hilly

(n=1)

TOTAL

N=41

N=38

N=34

^a. % may not equal 100% due to a rounding effect (≥0.5% rounded up to the next whole number, <0.5% rounded down to the previous whole number)

All respondents provided a response to the major deterrent to cycling. The primary choice was a perceived lack of bicycle facilities (36%) followed by a perceived lack of safety when riding on the road (32%).

Thirty eight respondents indicated a second deterrent for not cycling. Perceived lack of bicycle facilities (31%) was the predominant second choice followed by lifestyle (21%).

Of the 34 respondents providing a third deterrent for not cycling, both lifestyle (26%) and the perceived lack of safety when riding on the road (26%) were considered issues.

Table 2: Determinants of Cycling in Priority Order

Response

Major Determinant

Second Determinant

Third

Determinant

Improved Bike Design and Bike Equipment

(n= 1)

13%

(n=5)

(n=2)

Provision of Safe Cycleways

80%

(n=33)

38%

(n=15)

(n=3)

Promotion

(n=3)

(n=2)

18%

(n=7)

Bike Maps

(n=1)

(n=2)

Improved Road Safety

(n=3)

33%

(n=13)

29%

(n=11)

Bicycle Parking

10%

(n=4)

34%

(n=13)

TOTAL

N= 41

N= 39

N= 38

^a. % may not equal 100% due to a rounding effect (≥0.5% rounded up to the next whole number, <0.5% rounded down to the previous whole number)

All respondents (n=41) provided a response to their major cycling determinant. Eighty percent considered that the provision of safe cycleways would be the major determinant to encourage their cycling.

Thirty nine respondents indicated a second determinant to cycling. The provision of safe cycleways was considered by 38% of respondents as being the predominant second choice followed by improved road safety (33%).

Of the 38 respondents providing a third determinant to cycling, bicycle parking (34%) and improved road safety (29%) were considered issues.

Discussion

The current research evidenced the following:

According to the respondents the main reason (34%) for not cycling was the lack of bicycle facilities available to them. This was closely followed by 32% of women saying the main reason was the perceived lack of on-road safety.

The third most important measure that was believed to be able to encourage cycling was the availability of secure bicycle parking and end trip facilities, such as change rooms, lockers and showers. The women feared the theft of their bicycle and would only use the bike for commuting to the shops if they could park it in sight.

In Sydney the issue of lack of bike parking availability at ones residence was believed to be an issue that discourages cycling. It was interesting to note the effect of bicycle parking to women cycling was that women were not willing to purchase a new bike because of the fear of theft so they kept an old uncomfortable bike that did not entice cycling. The implication of this issue may be to incorporate bicycle parking as a requirement in development applications at both local government and state planning authority levels.

Fifteen percent of women stated that their lack of riding was due to the issue of lifestyle choice. Lifestyle choices included reasons such as preferring not to cycle due to lack of time, having a work car for trips and children needed escorting. On consideration of the responses, it is this research opinion that some women will not be prone to take up cycling even if bicycle facilities and bike infrastructure are provided and road safety is improved.

The term “safe cycleways” includes the availability to cycle in an area where cars are not present such as an off-road path, an on-road area segregated for cyclists having little or no perceived conflict with other road users. Eighty percent of women stated that the main determinant to cycling is having safe cycleways.

Other interpretations of safe cycleways were the availability of both on-road and off-road purpose built routes for cyclists that existed in area not isolated from passing traffic and were well lit. Women also interpreted safe cycleways as being areas where they could ride where the route was easily accessible to their homes and being an area with a low stress environment where they could cycle without the fear of confrontations. The meaning of safe cycleway has both to do with the personal security one feels e.g. the expectation that women will not be attacked while cycling and secondly the feeling of safety that exists when cycling infrastructure is available for cyclists and perceiving the location is safe. Cleary (1996) discusses the issue of “good quality infrastructure” (p.262) as being an issue that can encourage cycling, with women feeling less likely to fear being attacked.

The women perceived the “lack of on-road safety” to be a major deterrent to cycling. Lack of on-road safety included the lack of infrastructure and road space for cyclists, making them feel vulnerable when riding on the road, due to cars overtaking at close distances and not giving way at roundabouts. The term also referred to confrontations that cyclists had in the past with other road users making them feel unsafe or threatened due to motorists’ behaviour. Examples of incidents included, being verbally abused and motorists not yielding to cyclists.

Further research could be undertaken of women living within a close proximity of on-road and/or off-road cycle ways to determine if this is a factor influencing bicycle use.

Women living where the construction of cycleways are planned, could be surveyed before the cycleways are in place and after implementation, to understand if the cycleways have been a cycling determinant.

Research could also be carried out of women who work in manual labour to determine if this is a determining or deterring factor of bike use.

References

Cleary J, (1996), “Women and Cycling” in Velo Australis International Bicycle Conference Fremantle, Western Australia 1996 Proceedings. Canning Bridge (WA): Promaco Conventions Pty Ltd, p.262.

Thaden J.E, (1996), “Women and Cycling in the US” in Velo Australis International Bicycle Conference Fremantle, Western Australia 1996 Proceedings. Canning Bridge (WA): Promaco Conventions Pty Ltd, pp.263-264.

Khadouja M, (2000), “Position Paper on Air Pollution Control & Prevention & Sustainable Transportation” in Velomondial2000 The versatile approach June 2000. CD Rom of Velomondial 2000 conference proceedings, Netherlands, June 2000.

Appendix 1

Survey Questionnaire Used to Assist With the Interviews

NUMBER: --------------------------------------------------------------------- MAPS Yes No

1a. Do you have access to a bicycle? Yes No

1b. Do you own your own bicycle Yes No

2. What type of bicycle is it?---------------------------------------------------------------------

3. How often do you cycle?

Once per week

Once per fortnight

Once per month

Rarely (about once every six months)

Never

Other (please specify)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. How long have you had your bicycle? -------------------

5. Is your bike in working order or does it need maintenance or fixing?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. What do you mainly use your bike for (eg recreation, exercise, shopping, education, work)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7. Why would you say that you don’t cycle at all or not much?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8. From the reasons given in the last question, which reasons would you say are the MAIN 3 REASONS for your lack of cycling?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9. From the following list please tell me the reasons you think would encourage you to cycle more in the future. (Each one should be explained)

a. The provision of safe cycleways

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

b. More variety in bike designs

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

c. Bicycle parking availability. Lockers or racks? Where and willing to pay?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

d. Improvements in road conditions. How?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

e. Possibility of traveling easier with bike on public transport. How and what type of transport is important?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

f. Clearly identified cycle routes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

g. The use of helmets not being compulsory

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

h. Bicycles to cost less

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i. To feel safer on the bicycle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

j. To know that I won’t have confrontations with motorists

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

k. The availability of bicycle maps showing routes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

l. Facilities at work (eg showers, lockers, change rooms)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

m. To be able to carry my child on the back of my bike

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

n. To be able to fix my bike

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

o. If I was to become a more confident cyclist

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Women and Cycling in Sydney

Results of Pilot Survey

Cycle Planning

This research was prepared with financial assistance by the Cycling Promotion Fund and the

Table of Contents

List of Tables

Abstract

Introduction

Method

Subjects

Table 2: Determinants of Cycling in Priority Order

Discussion

Appendix 1