01906187

Component

https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981231220565

Electric bicycles (e-bikes) are an emerging mode of sustainable transportation well-known for their individual and environmental benefits. Past research suggests factors for e-bike adoption from new and experienced e-bike users, but little is known about prospective users’ attitudes. Understanding the standpoint of non-users would reveal practical barriers impeding e-bike adoption in developing markets. We identify important drivers and barriers from a representative city-level sample of prospective e-bike users in India. The study employs exploratory factor analysis integrated with a multi-criteria decision-making model to identify latent components and prioritize their variables. The results revealed five factors: user-perceived benefit-specific motivators, travel quality-specific motivators, e-bike mobility-specific motivators, perceived social and economy-specific barriers, and e-bike infrastructure-specific barriers. Attributes such as monetary savings, reduced congestion, and last-mile connectivity were identified as the most important benefits, while fear of battery explosion and lack of cycling and charging infrastructure were perceived as the key barriers. Comparison by age shows “purchase cost” as the most influencing perceived social and economy-specific barrier among young male commuters. Comparison by income underlines the diminishing importance of “purchase cost” with increasing income among males. Regardless of age, income, and trip length, females prioritized “range anxiety” over “purchase cost.” The trip length-based comparison reveals the significance of “risk of theft” for males with longer trip lengths. In general, males of all groups preferred using e-bikes for “short non-commuting trips” substituting motorized transport, while females preferred using them for “last-mile connectivity.” These findings offer insights for designing effective e-bike promotion campaigns for the mass adoption of e-bikes.

Mohammad Zabiulla https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9013-893X© National Academy of Sciences: Transportation Research Board 2024.

English

0000-0002-9013-893X

0000-0002-4309-5631

0000-0001-7721-8436

pp 700-715

2024-8

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

Web

References (73)

Attitudes; Bicycles; Electric vehicles; Surveys

India

Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment

TRIS, TRB

Jan 26 2024 3:03PM