Benign mobility? Electric bicycles, sustainable transport consumption behaviour and socio-technical transitions in Nanjing, China
Year: 2017
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: In this paper, we ask whether electric bicycle (e-bike) use in urban China is a temporary phase or an embedded form of sustainable mobility. A survey was conducted in Nanjing in order to assess the characteristics and attitudes of electric bicycle users and other mode users (e.g. pedestrians; car drivers). Based on over 1000 responses a Logit Model was used to analyse current and future mode choice. The results show that electric bicycles are not necessarily displacing cars on a substantial scale, but are rather displacing the ‘benign’ modes of walking, traditional bicycling, and using the bus. We conclude that electric bicycles are helping to enable mobility-dependent lifestyles that may in the future be supported by cars, rather than offering a true departure from carbon-centred, motorized forms of transport.
Authors: Xiao Lin, Peter Wells, Benjamin K. Sovacool
Institutions: Aarhus University, Cardiff University, University of Sussex
Language: English
Subfield: Transportation
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2727770895