Effects of Perceived Traffic Risks, Noise, and Exhaust Smells on Bicyclist Behaviour: An Economic Evaluation

Stefan Gössling, Andreas Humpe, Todd Litman and Daniel Metzler
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Stefan Gössling: Western Norway Research Institute, P.O. Box 163, 6851 Sogndal, Norway
Andreas Humpe: Department of Tourism, University of Applied Sciences, 80636 Munich, Germany
Todd Litman: Victoria Transport Policy Institute, 1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC V8V 3R7, Canada
Daniel Metzler: Department of Tourism, University of Applied Sciences, 80636 Munich, Germany

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: Active mode (walking, bicycling, and their variants) users are exposed to various negative externalities from motor vehicle traffic, including injury risks, noise, and air pollutants. This directly harms the users of these modes and discourages their use, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of less active travel, more motorized travel, and more harmful effects. These impacts are widely recognized but seldom quantified. This study evaluates these impacts and their consequences by measuring the additional distances that bicyclists travel in order to avoid roads with heavy motor vehicle traffic, based on a sample of German-Austrian bicycle organization members (n = 491), and monetizes the incremental costs. The results indicate that survey respondents cycle an average 6.4% longer distances to avoid traffic impacts, including injury risks, air, and noise pollution. Using standard monetization methods, these detours are estimated to impose private costs of at least €0.24/cycle-km, plus increased external costs when travellers shift from non-motorized to motorized modes. Conventional transport planning tends to overlook these impacts, resulting in overinvestment in roadway expansions and underinvestments in other types of transport improvements, including sidewalks, crosswalks, bikelanes, paths, traffic calming, and speed reductions. These insights should have importance for transport planning and economics.

Keywords: air pollution; cost-benefit analysis; cycling; Detours; exhaust fumes; transport externalities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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