Source: News Fietsberaad

The Knowledge Institute for Mobility (KiM) has conducted a data analysis of information from the Dutch Mobility Panel. It has recommended that, with effective policy measures, combining cycling with public transport has the greatest potential to encourage users to drive less.

In this study, nine benchmarks were used to analyse if various car journeys by users could have been replaced by public transport and bicycle usage. These included, whether public transport was available, whether the travel duration was less than 1.5 times longer than by car, and if the traveler was healthy enough to walk and cycle instead of drive by car.

Findings and implications for mobility potential

KiM’s analysis revealed that the amount of car journeys that could be switched with public transport and bike was 3.4 percent of journeys and 7.8 percent of total distance traveled. They also found that the combination of using the bicycle with public transport was more attractive for longer car journeys that have an average of 33-41 kilometers.

The study revealed that the travel time and cycling distance to public transport stops and stations could also influence the shift in travel mode, which implied that there could be effective policy measures taken to make travel time shorter, or the bike/public transport experience more comfortable and convenient for people to accept a longer travel time.

In terms of public transport and bicycle combinations, the analysis highlights the train being combined with the bicycle as having the most potential, with 80-90% of replaceable car trips being estimated to be able to be swapped with this specific combination.

The analysis also stresses the importance of retaining current public transport and bicycle users, and suggests that employers could also help further to encourage public transport and bike usage, since more than half of the 3% of replaceable car trips were for commuting purposes.