Preaching to the converted? Socially unequal reception of a bike repair subsidy in France

Matthieu Adam (), David Sayagh () and Thomas Buhler ()
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Matthieu Adam: EVS - Environnement, Ville, Société - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - Université de Lyon - Mines Saint-Étienne MSE - École des Mines de Saint-Étienne - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UJML - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 - Université de Lyon - INSA Lyon - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon - Université de Lyon - INSA - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - ENTPE - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État - ENSAL - École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Lyon - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - ALLHiS - Approches Littéraires, Linguistiques et Historiques des Sources - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne
David Sayagh: CIAMS - Complexité, Innovation, Activités Motrices et Sportives - UO - Université d'Orléans - Université Paris-Saclay
Thomas Buhler: ThéMA - Théoriser et modéliser pour aménager (UMR 6049) - UB - Université de Bourgogne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UFC - Université de Franche-Comté - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE]

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Abstract: Various pro-cycling policies emerged around the world with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. France experimented with a €50 bike repair subsidy. Our questionnaire survey (n = 7343) focuses on beneficiaries' sociological profiles. Despite its success in quantitative terms, the repair subsidy benefited more regular cyclists—who cycle daily—and people who are confident cycling in urban areas. Women were more likely to benefit than men, and people in low-income households more than those in high-income households. Because these populations are usually underrepresented among cyclists in France, the scheme may appear to have reduced inequities in cycling. However, the scheme could have reached out more to the low-income population who were largely unaware of it. This selectivity is partly explained by awareness of the subsidy, which is lower among the younger and the less educated part of the population. Our survey shows that the scheme is selective primarily because of its design. It would have been necessary to accompany it with measures specifically designed for vulnerable groups.

Keywords: financial incentives; cycling; Covid-19; social inequalities; gender inequalities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04372308v1
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Published in Transport Policy, 2024, 148, pp.31-39. ⟨10.1016/j.tranpol.2023.12.011⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04372308

DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2023.12.011

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