Citation

Katz A. Transp. Res. Rec. 1978; 683: 25-33.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1978, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

FINDINGS of bicycle field surveys are presented, including 685 interviews with riders in six Israeli towns that have very different levels of bicycle use. Data are analyzed on bicycle accidents and on mode of travel to work and school in 29 towns. Estimates are made of the number of bicycles in use, the number of riders, and annual travel by age and sex of rider for major trip purposes. It is concluded that bicycle travel represents an overall addition of 12 percent to urban travel at present levels of use in Israel and, on this basis, accident risk per kilometer of bicycle travel is approximately the same or even lower than that for passenger automobiles. Furthermore, bicycles are not only an extremely important means of transport for the 10- to 19-year age group, but in towns where bicycle use is high (20 percent of total trips) all ages of males and females use the mode actively for shopping, recreation, and work. Trip lengths are rarely above 5 km and vary according to age, sex, and trip purpose. In general, trip length characteristics are similar to those found in Europe. For towns with flat topography and populations of 100,000 or less, multiple regression analysis indicated that six factors accounted for 59 percent of the variance in bicycle use in the 24 towns studied: population, radius, density, number of persons per household, percent welfare expenditure, and percent working out of town. It was further found that in very small and poor towns, walking was an alternative to bicycling. In other towns, industry-provided transportation appeared to be an alternative mode to bicycling.