E-Bikes

Bicycle safety in Bogotá: A seven-year analysis of bicyclists’ collisions and fatalities

Carvajal, G
Sarmiento, OL
Medaglia, A
Cabrales, S
Rodríguez, D
Quintsberg, A
Lopez, S
2020
Road safety research in low- and middle-income countries is limited, even though ninety percent of global road traffic fatalities are concentrated in these locations. In Colombia, road traffic injuries are the second leading source of mortality by external causes and constitute a significant public health concern in the city of Bogotá. Bogotá is among the top 10 most bike-friendly cities in the world. However, bicyclists are one of the most vulnerable road-users in the city. Therefore, assessing the pattern of mortality and understanding the variables affecting the outcome of bicyclists’...

Assessing Public Health Benefits of Replacing Freight Trucks with Cargo Cycles in Last Leg Delivery Trips in Urban Centers

Hartle, J
Elrahman, O
Wang, C
Rodriguez, D
Ding, Y
McGahan, M
2022

Increased urbanization, population growth, and demand for time-sensitive deliveries means increased freight movement in cities, which contributes to emissions, noise, and safety concerns. One innovative mode gaining widespread attention for urban deliveries is cargo cycles—bicycles adapted for freight delivery. Despite the recognized potential and possible success of transporting at least 25% of freight via cycle, research remains limited. This research investigates the potential of cargo cycle delivery for last mile freight in Oakland, California, with a focus on the West Oakland...

Bicycle use in Latin American cities: changes over time by socio-economic position

Avila-Palencia, I
Gouveia. N
Jáuregui, A
Mascolli, M
Rodriguez, D
Slovic, A
Sarmiento, O
2023

We aimed to examine utilitarian bicycle use among adults from 18 large Latin American cities and its association with socio-economic position (education and income) between 2008 and 2018. Data came from yearly cross-sectional surveys collected by the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). A total of 77,765 survey respondents with complete data were used to estimate multilevel logistic regression models with city as random intercept and year as random slope. Individuals with high education and high-income levels had lower odds of using a bicycle compared with participants with lower...

Evaluating the effects of a classroom-based bicycle education intervention on bicycle activity, self-efficacy, personal safety, knowledge, and mode choice

Nachman, Elizabeth R.
Rodríguez, Daniel A.
2023

This study provides an evaluation of the impacts of classroom-based adult bicycle education on bicycling activity, confidence and competency self-perceptions while bicycling, knowledge of the bicycling rules of the road, and mode choice in a sample of residents of the San Francisco Bay Area in the US. Changes were measured with self-administered surveys completed before and six weeks after the course intervention. Self-reported data were validated using objective data collected using the Ride Report app. We used multivariable regression analyses to examine changes in self-...

Comparing methods and data sources for classifying bicycle level of traffic stress: How well do their outcomes agree?

Harvey, C
Rodriguez, DA
Fang, K
2024

Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) metrics are widely used to examine how bicyclists may perceive stress along urban streets and identify opportunities for infrastructure improvements. The intuitiveness of the original method, which condensed 18 input variables into four levels, has made LTS very popular among practitioners. Nonetheless, it can be challenging to collect all required inputs. In response, numerous alternative methods have been developed with fewer or different inputs drawn from more general sources, such as OpenStreetMap (OSM) or GIS datasets from local agencies. These...

A comparison of heat effects on road injury frequency between active travelers and motorized transportation users in six tropical and subtropical cities in Taiwan

Hsu, CK
Rodriguez, DA
2024
Road traffic injuries (RTIs) pose significant public health threats, particularly for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. While recent studies have revealed adverse impacts of heat exposure on RTI frequency among motorized road users, a research gap persists in understanding these impacts on non-motorized road users, especially in tropical regions where their vulnerability can be heightened due to differential thermal exposure, adaptive capacity, and biological sensitivity. In this study, we compared associations between high temperatures and RTIs across four different...

Planning and Accommodating the Micromobility Revolution and Its Impact on Public Health

Quistberg, Alex
Rodriguez, Daniel
2024

Micromobility has grown immensely over the past decade, encompassing both public shared systems and private ownership, and, as Burford et al. have found, a surge in user injuries and deaths has accompanied the growth. Micromobility refers to the use of small vehicles, such as bicycles and scooters, that are either human powered or electric. These vehicles are ideal for short trips—although electric-powered micromobility has expanded the potential distance range.

What Makes the Route More Traveled? Optimizing U.S. Suburban Microtransit for Sustainable Mobility

Pan, Alexandra
Shaheen, Susan
2025

Microtransit services that provide pooled on-demand transportation with dynamic routing have been used in low-density areas since the 1970s, but improvements to routing technology have led to a resurgence of interest in the past decade. Questions remain about the effectiveness of microtransit to serve riders in low-density, car-dependent suburban areas. Better understanding of the factors underlying microtransit ridership can improve usage of these services and shift travelers to more sustainable modes in suburban areas. We compile a database of suburban microtransit programs from 32...

Communities Are Experimenting with Microtransit to Fill Critical Gaps in Public Transit Service – What Have We Learned so Far?

Shaheen, Susan
Cohen, Adam
Wolfe, Brooke
Martin, Elliot
2024

Microtransit is a technology-enabled transit service that typically employs shuttles or vans (Figure 1) to provide on-demand transportation with dynamic routing. While many rides are dispatched and paid via a smartphone, many services also provide a telephone booking option. A few services accept cash payment and street hails (similar to taxis). Variations of microtransit can include fixed schedules and routes and larger or smaller vehicles. Typically, microtransit services are operated by or provided on behalfof a government entity or nonprofit organization, although privately operated...

What Is the Connection? Understanding Shared Micromobility Links to Rail Public Transit Systems in Major California Cities

Shaheen, Susan
Martin, Elliot
Ju, Mengying
2024

As shared micromobility (bikes and scooters) has proliferated throughout urban areas, there has been growing interest in how it facilitates connections with rail transit systems. This study explores the magnitude of interactions between shared micromobility and rail public transit systems using shared micromobility trip data and rail transit schedule data. We evaluate over one million trips from October 2019 to February 2020 in four California cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Jose) and develop criteria to identify trips connecting to rail transit. These include...