TY - JOUR
T1 - To what extent do e-bikes substitute travel by other modes? Evidence from the Netherlands
AU - Kroesen, Maarten
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - After Asian countries, the e-bike is now also on the rise in many Western countries. Related to this development, an important question posed by scholars is to what extent the adoption of the e-bike will lead to environmental and health benefits. These will be present if the e-bike replaces travel by motorized modes. Surveying the literature addressing this issue, empirical studies conducted to date do indeed reach the conclusion that the e-bike is substituting travel by car. However, a general shortcoming of empirical studies is that substitution is assessed by asking direct questions to e-bike owners. The aim of the present study is to address this limitation and statistically assess the effect of e-bike ownership on various indicators of travel behavior. To this end, a conceptual model is developed, which is specified as a structural equation model and estimated using data from the last three national mobility surveys in the Netherlands (2013, 2014 and 2015). The results show that e-bike ownership strongly reduces the use of the conventional bicycle, but also, to a lesser extent, car and public transport use. Secondly, e-bike owners reduce their car and public transport use more than conventional bicycle owners. And thirdly, on the level of vehicle ownership, the e-bike acts as a substitute for the conventional bicycle and does not act as a substitute for the car. Overall, the results shed some light on the health and environmental benefits of the uptake of e-bikes in the Netherlands.
AB - After Asian countries, the e-bike is now also on the rise in many Western countries. Related to this development, an important question posed by scholars is to what extent the adoption of the e-bike will lead to environmental and health benefits. These will be present if the e-bike replaces travel by motorized modes. Surveying the literature addressing this issue, empirical studies conducted to date do indeed reach the conclusion that the e-bike is substituting travel by car. However, a general shortcoming of empirical studies is that substitution is assessed by asking direct questions to e-bike owners. The aim of the present study is to address this limitation and statistically assess the effect of e-bike ownership on various indicators of travel behavior. To this end, a conceptual model is developed, which is specified as a structural equation model and estimated using data from the last three national mobility surveys in the Netherlands (2013, 2014 and 2015). The results show that e-bike ownership strongly reduces the use of the conventional bicycle, but also, to a lesser extent, car and public transport use. Secondly, e-bike owners reduce their car and public transport use more than conventional bicycle owners. And thirdly, on the level of vehicle ownership, the e-bike acts as a substitute for the conventional bicycle and does not act as a substitute for the car. Overall, the results shed some light on the health and environmental benefits of the uptake of e-bikes in the Netherlands.
KW - E-bikes
KW - National Dutch mobility survey
KW - Structural equation model
KW - Substitution
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85018739614&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.trd.2017.04.036
DO - 10.1016/j.trd.2017.04.036
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85018739614
SN - 1361-9209
VL - 53
SP - 377
EP - 387
JO - Transportation Research. Part D: Transport & Environment
JF - Transportation Research. Part D: Transport & Environment
ER -