A study on route choice preferences for commuter and non-commuter bicyclists: a case study of Kharagpur and Asansol, India

The bicycle is one of the most affordable and flexible means of transportation in a developing country such as India. Despite being an important mode of transportation, a sharp decline in bicycle mode share has been observed in small and medium-sized Indian cities where trip lengths are favorable for bicycling. This decline could be attributed to inadequate bicycle infrastructure which should be improved not only to preserve the existing bicycle base, but also to attract new bicycle users. For such an improvement, it is essential to identify and evaluate key attributes that users value to select a bicycle route. In this study users’ preferences for bicycle infrastructure were collected with the help of stated preference survey in two Indian cities, Kharagpur and Asansol, and were used to estimate the choice preferences of both commuter and non-commuter bicyclists. In total, five different attributes were found to influence bicycle route choice, namely, road width, level of risk, route visibility, journey time and operating cost. With the collected data, random parameter logit (RPL) models were developed with and without considering heterogeneity around the means of the attributes. Based on the results of these RPL model coefficients and willingness to pay (WTP) values, the five attributes were estimated to quantify the perceived benefits associated with each attribute. Results indicate that the level of risk (a measure of perceived risk associated with motorized vehicles) is considered the most significant deterrent influencing bicyclist’s route choice decisions in both cities referred to above, followed by route visibility, road width and bicycle journey time. For almost all attributes, the WTP’s for non-commuters are found significantly higher than those for commuters.