Bicycle commuting in the Netherlands: An analysis of modal shift and its dependence on life cycle and mobility events

Abstract

This article investigates the influence of both mobility events and household events on modal shift decision for bicycle commuting using data collected from a retrospective survey in the Netherlands. The results from a mixed-logit analysis illustrate the influence of several life events on commute modal shifts in addition to changes in commute time and sociodemographic variables. Job characteristics such as changes in work status and employer, mobility resource, long-term mobility events, and household events are seen to influence commuting decision by bicycle.

Examining the effect of life course events on modality type and the moderating influence of life stage

“…The wish to purchase property often overlays with the life stage of parenthood or advanced professional career (Thierstein et al 2016), but constrained housing markets often drive parents to locate in more car-dependent suburban areas to meet their demand for property and living space (Delbosc and Nakanishi 2017;Gehrke et al 2019;Thierstein et al 2016). In a Dutch study, young persons (aged 30 years or less) had a higher likelihood compared to older persons of giving up bicycle commute whereas no significant effects were found for persons older than 50 years (Oakil et al 2016).…”

“…Active travelers seem to be more affected by changes in household size, which is consistent with findings that the share of active travelers decreases throughout the life stages. For instance, previous research revealed that persons are likely to stop bicycling when they become a parent (Oakil et al 2016).…”

“…A child leaving home has no significant effect on car ownership, but retirement is connected with a reduction in the number of cars in the household (Oakil et al 2014). For Dutch travelers, Oakil et al (2016) showed that households who experience childbirth are more likely to switch from bicycle commuting to other modes, though cohabitation increases the probability of switching to bicycle commuting.…”

“…Several studies have found evidence for the influence of life events on travel behavior change (Clark et al 2016;Beige and Axhausen 2017;Dargay and Hanly 2004;Oakil et al 2016;Scheiner and Holz-Rau 2015;Verhoeven et al 2005). For the UK, Clark et al (2016) using a longitudinal dataset found that a higher share of commuters who experienced changes in the workplace and residential location switched mode compared to commuters who did not experience life events.…”

“…Young persons may be used to adapting to new circumstances. In a Dutch study, young persons frequently changed their residence and workplace making a switch from bicycle to car commute more likely (Oakil et al 2016).…”