How much does the willingness to ride a bicycle depend on weather conditions such as rain and temperature?
It feels good to commute to work or school by bicycle when the weather is nice, but riding a bicycle can be a hassle when it's raining or cold. To investigate the impact of weather on cyclists' motivation to ride a bicycle, we collected data from share cycle programs in 40 cities in 16 countries across different climatic zones and analyzed the relationship between weather and how often share cycles are used. The research results are open to the public.
How does weather affect bikeshare use? A comparative analysis of forty cities across climate zones --ScienceDirect
We analyzed 100 million bike trips to reveal where in the world cyclists are most likely to brave rain and cold
https://theconversation.com/we-analysed-100-million-bike-trips-to-reveal-where-in-the-world-cyclists-are-most-likely-to-brave-rain-and-cold- 166894
Bicycles are more affected by the weather than transportation such as automobiles and public transportation, but the data of the research conducted to support this is said to have regional and quantitative restrictions. So the research team collected data from a public share cycle program operating in 40 cities in 16 countries that span tropical to subarctic climates.
The dataset used in this study consisted of nearly 100 million cycling data in total. As a result of the research team's analysis of the impact of time zone and climate on the use of the share cycle, it was found that the most important variable in the use of the share cycle on weekdays is the time zone. In addition to that, weather conditions such as rainfall, snowfall, and temperature rise also affect the willingness to ride a bicycle, and it was found that the effects of the weather vary from city to city.
According to the research team, the share cycle utilization rate during rainy and snowy hours has dropped to 81% in
Past studies have shown that avoiding biking due to rain or snow depends on the climate of the area, and people living in cool, rainy areas are accustomed to rain and snow. It was assumed that many people would ride a bicycle even in bad weather. However, looking at the cities mentioned above, Dublin is famous for its heavy rainfall, while Seville and Valencia have high share cycle utilization even in the rain, despite the fairly dry climate.
The research team argues that there are many more factors that affect the willingness to ride a bicycle, not just the weather. For example, in a city with a cyclist-friendly infrastructure, it can be difficult to reduce the number of cyclists in some bad weather. Seville and Valencia have a large share cycle system and a safe bicycle network, but Melbourne is not well-conditioned, so bad weather may have increased the number of people avoiding bicycles. .. In addition, the available time and price of the share cycle and the convenience of alternative public transportation are also considered to influence the willingness to ride a bicycle.
Unsurprisingly, people prefer to ride a bike when it's neither too hot nor too cold. In this study, it was found that the highest share cycle utilization rate occurs when the temperature is 27 to 28 degrees Celsius, and the utilization rate decreases as the temperature gets hotter or colder than this.
However, the research team points out that the relationship between temperature and climate is more complex.
'Like rain and snow, it was previously thought that tropical people could tolerate hotter climates than temperate people, and temperate people could tolerate lower temperatures than tropical people,' the researchers said. So this discovery is amazing. '
Although we cannot control the weather to increase the number of cyclists, it is possible to increase the number of people who use cyclists to move by improving the infrastructure and institutions to create a cyclist-friendly city. 'Improving bicycle utilization offers great potential benefits. It will lower medical costs, reduce traffic congestion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make cities more livable,' he said. The research team said.
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