Practices and motivations of travellers making rail-cycle trips

Sherwin, Henrietta; Parkhurst, Graham; Robbins, Derek; Walker, Ian

Abstract

Currently only 2% of British rail passengers choose to cycle to the station, in contrast to 40% in the Netherlands, but the combination of cycling with rail use presents a potentially attractive alternative to car use with carbon reduction and health-promotion benefits. The present study examined the motivations and behaviours of people who integrate bicycle and rail use, focusing particularly on the provision of station cycle parking as a facilitator. A novel methodology was applied to two intercity stations in Bristol (southwest England) to examine movements within an extensive cycle parking area. Bike-rail integration emerges as a complex set of practices, influenced by a range of factors including, but not limited to, the availability of station cycle parking. It is concluded that bike-rail integration can make a contribution to reducing both carbon emissions and car dependence, but a lack of integration within the rail industry and other agencies is limiting the delivery of policies to enhance the opportunities.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2011
• Journal: Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Transport
• Print ISSN: 0965-092X
• Electronic ISSN: 1751-7710
• Publisher: Thomas Telford
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 164
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 189-197
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1680/tran.2011.164.3.189
• Keywords: rail & bus stations, sustainability, railway systems
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/960546
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/tran.2011.164.3.189