Social Sciences · Transportation
Fare-free transit riders were much more sensitive to fare reinstatement than to increases in travel time, according to a 2024 survey across five U.S. agencies. The study estimates that half of new riders in its sample could stop riding if fares exceed $1.30.
People who regularly cycle for transportation do not necessarily cycle regularly to the grocery store, according to interviews with 16 cyclists in Hamilton, Canada. They cited bike parking, a lack of bike lanes, limited carrying capacity and large parking lots as particular challenges, although most cycled to the store at least sometimes.
In an online survey of 508 people in the Netherlands, fatbike riders were viewed more negatively than regular e-bike riders and were more often associated with traffic violations and unsafe behaviour. The findings suggest that public acceptance may depend partly on how rider behaviour is addressed, not only on how fatbikes are classified.
Women’s perceived safety declined sharply after dark when walking, cycling or using public transport, according to a survey in Australia and New Zealand. Unwanted behaviour was common across parts of the journey, but few respondents reported concerns through formal channels.
“Migrant” categories in research can be too rigid, the study argues, and may leave people feeling “boxed in.” Using survey data from 2016 and family history interviews in four cities, the researchers test ways to understand how movement—and staying put—relates to upward social mobility.
A study using computer vision to track pedestrians in a busy shopping district in Fukuoka, Japan, found that walking speed changes with both temperature and COVID emergency restrictions. The effects varied by time of day and by why people were walking, with night-time pedestrians showing more varied responses and a younger nighttime population during emergency periods.
