Benign mobility? Electric bicycles, sustainable transport consumption behaviour and socio-technical transitions in Nanjing, China

Lin, Xiao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4929-1027, Wells, Peter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4376-7178 and Sovacool, Benjamin K. 2017. Benign mobility? Electric bicycles, sustainable transport consumption behaviour and socio-technical transitions in Nanjing, China. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 103 , pp. 223-234. 10.1016/j.tra.2017.06.014

Preview

PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

In this paper, we ask whether electric bicycle (e-bike) use in urban China is a temporary phase or an embedded form of sustainable mobility. A survey was conducted in Nanjing in order to assess the characteristics and attitudes of electric bicycle users and other mode users (e.g. pedestrians; car drivers). Based on over 1000 responses a Logit Model was used to analyse current and future mode choice. The results show that electric bicycles are not necessarily displacing cars on a substantial scale, but are rather displacing the ‘benign’ modes of walking, traditional bicycling, and using the bus. We conclude that electric bicycles are helping to enable mobility-dependent lifestyles that may in the future be supported by cars, rather than offering a true departure from carbon-centred, motorized forms of transport.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0965-8564
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	24 July 2017
Date of Acceptance:	24 June 2017
Last Modified:	04 Dec 2024 21:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/102852

Citation Data

Cited 52 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item