Cycling to the University: Evaluating the potential mobility patterns changing towards bicycle usage

Abstract

Policymakers at many universities are struggling to promote cycling in the local community in a way to recover campuses as a more livable and sustainable area, as well as decrease the current pollution emissions rate from students and staff commuting patterns. In such a context, providing and making bicycles accessible are considered promising initiatives to deliver such issues. However, the effectiveness regarding how such provision can establish a bicycle culture, in a current car-orientated built environment must be explored, highlighting the role of personal factors and the physical conditions to take up cycling. This paper applies the transactional model of behaviour change to investigate the influence of bicycle supplying on behaviour and mobility patterns changing, taking U-Bike Portugal Project and the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Oporto as a case of study.