Usability of bicycle as a mode and the role of physical environment: a case study of Bhubaneswar city

Abstract

My research area is non-motorized transportation and I am focussing on bicycle usability as mode in Indian urban context. The motivation of my research area has been the constant decline in the mode share of bicycle in Indian cities and it is predicted that it will go on decreasing with a much faster rate than before which creates a great urge for research in this field. Further India lacks a NMT policy at the central level but lately some Indian cities had developed their own NMT policy but this hasn’t helped in the regulation and implementation of NMT infrastructure or strategies in the Indian city. and the countries like Netherland and Denmark do have a high bicycle mode share because there has been continuous research done in this field of study which has led to better policy implementation. And many researches before have identified that Indian cities do have favourable scope for enhancement of bicycle mode share because of its mixed land use and short trip length. And by enhancing the infrastructure there is a chance of enhancement of safety factor as well. So all in all these are the reasons that have motivated me to do research in this field of study. I have followed a simple methodology that are generally followed by many researchers. First of all, I went through many papers related to the field of bicycle and identified the issues related to Indian context. Then I narrowed down on the area on which I wanted to conduct my study on. The research area of my study was on the travel characteristics, attitude towards bicycling, land use and infrastructure impacts on bicycling. Then I decided upon the city which would be perfect for studying the bicyclist as well as the Indian conditions perfectly. After doing that, I finalized upon the data requirements and the way of collecting that data. After the data collection and compilation was finished, data analysis was done using various mathematical tools for each of the objectives to be achieved. The tools used was multivariate regression model, measures of central tendency, co-relation matrix analysis and low stress bicycle connectivity tool. These are the four mathematical tool used for achieving each objective. There were certain findings from the research work which were used to give certain recommendation and proposals.The outcome of the study will infer what are the major variables that have an impact upon the bicycle mode share, what are the motivators and the deterrents for bicycling I.e., the attitude analysis of both users and non-users of bicycle towards bicycle as a mode, how do land use impact the bicycle trips and how the dedicated bicycle infrastructure have impact on the stress level of the rider. All in all, it describes how the psychology and the physical environment impact the bicycle mode share. The recommendations are given using the ITDP street design guidelines and IRC Codes. A standard for the proper utilization of the Right of Way on the road sections where there was a deficit of infrastructure has been proposed. The proposal has been especially for the major roads i.e., the arterial and sub-arterial roads of the city which has been taken up for the analysis part. There was also recommendation related to street vending management, on-street parking, bicycle parking and bicycle prioritized intersection design. The research would definitely contribute to the sustainable transportation sector. The study will give a light on the attitude of the commuters as well as the physical infrastructure gaps impact on bicycle mode share especially in a mid-size Indian City. The limitations of the study can become the scope for future studies as well. This research would either lead to higher bicycle mode share or going for the next sustainable option of transportation.