01629498

Component

While there is widespread acceptance of the health benefits of bicycling, recent research has highlighted that the benefits may be partially offset by the potential adverse health impacts as a result of bicyclists’ exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Using a stated preference experiment, data from 629 commuters was compiled through a web-based survey and analyzed using a random utility approach to evaluate whether and to what extent cyclists are willing to trade-off air pollution exposure with other attributes such as roadway characteristics, bike facilities, and travel time. Mean and maximum air pollutant concentrations (in parts per billion or ppb) were used as the attributes to represent the externality (ranging from 5-60 ppb for nitrogen dioxide, a common traffic-related air pollutant). Empirical results indicate that travel time and traffic volume remain the most important attributes for commuters in their route decision. The authors also computed a unique marginal rate of substitution called “Value of Clean Ride” (VCR). For mean exposure, the VCR is: 0.77 min/ppb and for maximum exposure, the VCR is: 0.27 min/ppb (95% distribution: -0.18, 0.72). This essentially suggests that if an alternative route was available with an average exposure that is lower by 5 ppb (a realistic goal in light of the high spatial variability in air pollution within urban areas), then cyclists would be willing to take it if it added no more than about 4 minutes to their travel time. The authors also observed that cyclists who received information on short-term impacts of traffic-related air pollution tended to be more concerned with avoiding maximum exposure.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADB10 Standing Committee on Traveler Behavior and Values.

01618707

17-03351

English

19p

2017

Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Air pollution; Bicycle commuting; Bicycling; Cyclists; Route choice; Stated preferences

Environment; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2017 Paper #17-03351

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 8 2016 11:15AM