Hövding wearers contribute to better bicycle lanes

Good bicycle infrastructure encourages more people to cycle more often and further, according to new research conducted by the Technical University of Denmark and the University of Copenhagen, which has just been published in the leading scientific journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America). The research has made use of unique data from cyclists wearing a Hövding.

“With precise GPS data from Hövding, covering a huge number of cycle trips, we have a unique opportunity to gain detailed insights into cyclists’ behaviour, dangerous locations and the choices cyclists make in relation to different types of bicycle infrastructure. These insights can be used to identify places where investment should be made in good, safe bicycle infrastructure,” states Thomas Kjær Rasmussen, Associate Professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), who is one of the researchers behind the study.

The right bicycle lane in the right place could prove a key factor in future urban development. The researchers behind the study used GPS data from over 100,000 cycle trips that were mapped by tracking cyclists wearing a Hövding. With the help of this dataset, the researchers were able to establish the cyclists’ preferences in terms of infrastructure, enabling them to calculate what they call the ‘subjective cost of cycling’.

“It’s fantastic to see Hövding wearers sharing information in this way and contributing to research and development regarding good bicycle infrastructure. And the data from the Hövding-wearing cyclists is fully anonymised. Such a large quantity of data on cyclists’ behaviour and route choices has never been available before, making this a unique and groundbreaking project,” says Amin Malalla, Director of Product Development at Hövding.

In the research paper “Bikeability and the induced demand for cycling”, the authors describe how the increasingly extensive network of bicycle lanes in Copenhagen has driven up the number of cycle trips and kilometres cycled by 60% and 90% respectively, compared with a scenario in which the bicycle lanes had not been built. “This translates into an annual benefit of €0.45M per km of bicycle lane owing to changes in subjective travel cost, health, and accidents” states the research paper from the DTU and the University of Copenhagen. The authors are clear: “Our results thus strongly support the provision of bicycle infrastructure.”

Urban cycling has many benefits

Increased cycling has many benefits, not just for the cyclists, but also for the cities. In addition to cutting the climate impact of city traffic, it helps to improve public health, as well as traffic congestion, noise and air pollution.

“With our new method, it’s possible to make a detailed calculation of the return from investing in bicycle infrastructure, giving an insight into the effect of building bicycle infrastructure before it’s even constructed. The research can be used to identify good places to invest in cycle lanes and also to help set priorities. Our calculations show that investments can bring enormous returns,” concludes Thomas Kjær Rasmussen.

The study was conducted by the Technical University of Denmark and the University of Copenhagen, and was authored by Mogens Fosgerau, Miroslawa Lukawska, Mads Paulsen and Thomas Kjær Rasmussen. The study reflects the importance of a good bicycle network for a city such as Copenhagen. The authors urge other cities to use the same methods to measure how cycling-friendly their city is and the impact that good cycle paths could have.

The study, published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, can be downloaded here:

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.10...