Evaluation of the potential of classic and electric bicycle commuting as an impetus for the transition towards environmentally sustainable cities: A case study of the university campuses in Liege, Belgium

Abstract

To address the negative effects of car use, conventional and electric bicyclesare often proposed as environment-friendlyalternatives. The aim of this research is to identify the prospects of a modal shift towards conventional and electric bicycles based on a case study analysing the mobility generated by the three main campuses of the University of Liège in Belgium. In the theoretical part of this paper, the known factors and strategies that affect most of the bicycle use in Europe are summarised and the need for a deeper understanding of the elements that promote a modal shift from bus and car users to the use of electric bicycles is highlighted. Consequently, the results of a survey conducted among the university population of the University of Liège(students, PhD students, and staff members;including 1496 questionnaire responses)are presented and analysed in detail. The Net Promoter Score (NPS), as an indicator of the user satisfaction, confirms that the bicycle has the best NPS compared with the main modes of transport (car and bus) and that the electric bicyclehas agreater NPS than the conventional bicycle. The importance of many factors affecting the use of cycling is lower if we consider the electric bicycleinstead of the conventional bicycle.Consideringthe current travel patterns in terms of the distances travelled, the potential for the use of conventional bicycles only reaches 23% of the university users, whereasthat of electric bicycles reaches 70%. In the pursuit of a modal report, the most imminent factor is the development of safe bike paths, where a potential increase in the bicycle use is acknowledged by 74% of the students, 62% of the staff members, 62% of the car users, and 82% of the bus users.Finally, because the lack of safe cycle lanes remains the major obstacle with respect to the use of both bicycle types, the development and/or improvement of a comfortable and secure infrastructure for cyclists within a radius of 12 km from the main school and work places, especially in the main residential and commercial areas, should be prioritised to promote the use of both types of bicycles.

Towards nearly zero-energy residential neighbourhoods in the European Union: A case study

“…To achieve this, we first determined the annual consumption of a resident living in urban areas versus a resident living in rural areas. We adopted the same method described above, by assuming that an electric car consumes 0.17 kWh/km [62,69]. The average consumption was 0.21 kWh/km for a half electric car park and average consumption of 0.11 kWh/km by using only electric cars.…”

Bicycle ownership and utilization in Tamale Metropolis; influencing factors and impacts to sustainable transport

“…As clearly indicated in Table 7 , respondents prefer faster modes and modes that require less physical energy in travelling long distances to the conventional bicycles. Electric bicycles present such capabilities and contribute to sustainable green environments ( Nematchoua et al., 2020 ; Cherry et al., 2016 ). They are therefore likely to attract more riders if the public is made aware of their benefits.…”

Changing commuters’ mobility behaviors of university campuses: environmental and energy comparisons

“…Consideration on the promotion of sustainable modes of transport associated to university campuses as an effective strategy to facilitate a transition towards greener and low carbon cities is not new: recently, this has been an important matter of scientific interest [14,15,7]. This transition could be accomplished, for instance, by involving students in app-based games that reward their greener mobility behaviors [16].…”

“…In light of these data, several analyses have been carried out [3,4] aimed at making the road traffic more environmentally sustainable by improving the road infrastructure [5], thus making the entire compartment more efficient and effective [6,7]. Anyway, users' behaviors regarding their mobility modes (which is the topic of the present study) have received less attention to date, apart from a few researches that examined possible modifications in the mobility of cities.…”