Work

Cycling in the dark – the impact of Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time on bicycle ridership

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: The European Union is in the process of abolishing the bi-annual clock change. Against this backdrop, we analyze how daylight and twilight affect the sustainable transport mode of cycling, and find that better daylight conditions generally lead to higher levels of cycling. The extent of this effect depends on the type of traffic and the time of day. An all-year implementation of Daylight Saving Time would then lead to an increase in overall cycling levels of around 3.14 %-3.37 %, compared to an all-year Standard Time. This would imply an increase of around 1.27-1.36 billion cycled kilometers per year in Germany alone. Additionally, we provide monetary estimates for the external effects of such changes in cycling levels.

Source: PNAS Nexus

DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgab006

Author: Jan Wessel

Institution: University of Münster

Language: English

Topic: Urban Transport and Accessibility

Subfield: Transportation

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $4,000