Cycling environmental perception in Beijing - A study of residents' attitudes towards future cycling and car purchasing

This study focuses on three groups: cyclists, non-cyclists, and non-car owners and examines the significance of the perceived cycling environment, current travel behavior, urban form and socio-demographic variables for the respondents' attitudes towards future cycling and car purchasing. The paper uses survey data (N = 1427) collected in eight Beijing neighborhoods. The analysis is carried out by means of principal component analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis. The respondents were generally more positive towards continuing cycling or cycling more in the future than towards car purchasing. The perceived cycling environment was found to be associated with respondents' attitude towards future cycling and car purchasing. The higher the level of satisfaction with the clarity of cycling space allocation and the higher the agreement with pro-cycling policies, the higher the probability that the respondents will cycle in the future and the lower probability that they will buy a car. Associations with current travel behavior indicate that long everyday travel distances (e.g. 10 km to work or longer) negatively affects the respondents attitude towards their future cycling, whereas short everyday travel distances up to 2 km are positively linked to future cycling prospects. Non-car owners' attitude to future car ownership is strongly linked to socio-demographic status - low education and low income level groups seems to be most unlikely to take up driving in the future. To encourage people to cycle more and drive less, policy should direct efforts to promoting the clarity of cycling space on the street and strengthen pro-cycling policies. Attention should also be given to stabilizing the current travel modes of non-car users, including promoting the image of cycling, improving the service of walking, cycling, public transport and generally by introducing attractive alternatives to private car ownership.