What affects commute cycling in Sydney: Access, infrastructure and demographics

Abstract

A better understanding of factors affecting commute cycling will be needed to affect a greater uptake of active transport in many parts of the world, and to facilitate the shift toward more sustainable cities. Commute cycling rates in Sydney is currently low; in this paper we use census data and aggregate level attributes to identify factors affect- ing commute cycling in Sydney, Australia, including (i) road and cycling infrastructure; (ii) the convenience of reaching destinations by cycling (access); and (iii) demographic variables. We find places with high commute cycling levels consistently have good ac- cess to jobs and to cycling infrastructure. Student population has a positive effect on commute cycling rates while areas in the city with a high proportion of East Asian population has a negative effect. This paper highlights the importance of providing cy- cling infrastructure in conjunction with job accessibility in order to encourage commute cycling. Active transport policies should aim to promote commute cycling in historical CBD, and focus on recreational or non-commuting utility cycling in local centers and suburban areas.

Keywords

• Cycling Infrastructure
• Access to Jobs
• Commute Cycling