Perceived importance of facilitators to cycling: the case of a starter cycling city in Italy

The goal of this study is to understand and explore how facilitators to cycling are perceived by different segments of individuals, in view of assessing how to best promote the use of the bicycle in urban areas bicycle-unfriendly. The data for this study is drawn from a survey conducted in the metropolitan area of Cagliari, a starter cycling city in Italy, in 2014-2016 among a sample of local employees. The sample comprises 1,481 observations. All participants were asked to rate, by means of a 5-point Likert Scale, the importance of eight different specified factors that would encourage them to start cycling or to cycle more often. These factors, which are the dependent variables of our study, are modelled jointly using a multivariate ordered probit framework. Our results clearly indicates that how people perceive the implementation of policy measures aimed to encourage more frequent cycling depends on their socio-demographic characteristics. Hence, a holistic approach with a variety of activities is needed, as improvements in cycling infrastructure may not be enough.