Potential for Increasing Health-Beneficial Participation in Cycling for Transportation: A “Stages of Change” Perspective on Barcelona’s Bike Sharing Program

The multiple benefits of active transportation, from non-communicable disease prevention to climate change mitigation, have led to increasing interests in developing multi-disciplinary health impact assessments (HIA) of walking and cycling strategies. However a fundamental uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of policies to change travel and physical activity behaviour remains. Our study aimed to assess the ability of bike sharing programs to facilitate contemplation and change in individuals to begin cycling for travel purposes. Methods: Participants living and working or attending school in Barcelona, Spain, were recruited in the street at 40 random locations across the city. In a quasi-case control sampling design, cyclists and non-cyclists (motorists and public transport users) were targeted to account for low cycling prevalence. A questionnaire was designed to assess from a health behaviour theory perspective the “stages of change” for individuals to begin contemplating or taking action to cycle. Respondents were asked if they currently cycled in the city, and if they cycled or at least considered cycling prior to the commencement of Barcelona’s bike sharing program “Bicing”. Self-reported and objective data on cycling conditions (e.g. bicycle lanes, traffic, air pollution) were also collected. Results Of the 367 current cyclists, nearly two thirds had never or nearly never used a bicycle for their current cycle trips before “Bicing”, and 70% had never or nearly never considered cycling. Almost half of all current cyclists would have taken public transportation for the same trip previously, 30% would have walked, and less than 5% would have used a motor vehicle (car or motorcycle). Non-cyclists (n=428) reported being unaffected in their willingness to cycle by the “Bicing” program. Conclusions: Bike sharing systems provide an impetus for cycling for transportation. Further analysis will explore built environmental influences on cycling and cycling awareness.