Air Pollution and Public Bike-Sharing System Ridership in the Context of Sustainable Development Goals

Jooho Park, Yasushi Honda, Sayaka Fujii and Satbyul Estella Kim
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Jooho Park: Department of Policy and Planning Sciences, Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan
Yasushi Honda: Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan
Sayaka Fujii: Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan
Satbyul Estella Kim: Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: A bicycle-sharing system (BSS) has been implemented in Seoul, South Korea to promote green transportation policy as a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to mitigate climate change, reduce traffic jams, and promote physical activity. However, the concentration of air pollutants in Seoul often exceeds the standards of the World Health Organization, thereby creating a conflict with SDG 3 (Health). Therefore, it is important to recognize the trade-offs between actions targeted at SDGs as they might offset each other. In this context, a primary concern is investigating how the behavior of BSS users regarding outdoor air pollution appears. This study explores the relationship between ambient air pollution and the behavior of BSS riders in Seoul. We conducted a time-series analysis of associations between particulate air pollution and participation in the BSS. We used generalized additive models, adjusted for mean temperature, humidity, rainfall, day of the week, long-term trends, and seasonality to construct an exposure–response relationship. We observed a nonlinear relationship between increasing air pollution and bicycle ridership. This study method can be used as a basis for similar analyses to investigate BSS policies in other cities.

Keywords: bike-sharing system; SDGs; air pollution; health effect; risk awareness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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