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HalehDolati_ Master Thesis.pdf (1.06 MB)

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Biking Distance: Exploring Gender, Race, and Climate

Dolati, Haleh
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1388725654

Abstract Details

2014, Master of City and Regional Planning, Ohio State University, City and Regional Planning.
Today’s urban life requires different types of transportation, such as private cars, public transit, and non-motorized transportation, each selected by people based on location and individual characteristics. Non-motorized transportation such as biking is a healthier option that is environmentally friendly and more flexible than motorized modes. Several studies have examined the importance of biking, ways to encourage more individual to biking, and factors that influence an individual’s decision to bike. An understudied research area lies in determining, once an individual is open to biking as a means of transportation, the factors that encourage or discourage her/him to bike longer distances. This research contributes to the limited body of research on biking distance by examining four major questions: (1) Does biking distance vary by gender? (2) Does biking distance vary for different races? (3) To what degree do weather conditions affect longer distances? I created a database using a number of different data sources. First, I used the National Household Travel Survey to identify the distance and number of trips individuals made by bicycle during 2009. This includes a total of 9,443 trips. I also used the National Household Travel Survey to identify individual who made the trip and household characteristics of them. More specifically, I included data related to race, gender, and income for bikers who made the trips. In addition to household and individual characteristics, I included a second source of data related to weather from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Overall, the database I created includes a matrix of 19 variables by 8636 cases. Using these data, I conducted a regression analysis. I run regression for five different scenarios: for female bikers, for male bikers, for African Americans bikers, for white bikers, and finally for all groups of bikers. Consistent with existing literature, gender plays an influential role in the decision to bike longer distances, with women generally biking shorter distances than men. In contrast, race, precipitation, and temperature do not affect biking distance. I found that age plays significant role in distance biked for each trip. Despite the limitations to the analysis due to the size of the database and unavailable or inadequate data for some factors, the findings offer an increased understanding of biking distance. The results show race and climate do not affect biking distance. However, women bike shorter distances compare to men. Based on these findings, policymakers wishing to increase bicycle use in cities, may want to target women and low- income families and encourage these two groups, which are less likely to bike longer distances.
Rachel Kliet, Dr. (Advisor)
Bernadette Hanlon, Dr. (Advisor)
94 p.
Urban Planning

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Dolati, H. (2014). Biking Distance: Exploring Gender, Race, and Climate [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1388725654

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Dolati, Haleh. Biking Distance: Exploring Gender, Race, and Climate. 2014. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1388725654.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Dolati, Haleh. "Biking Distance: Exploring Gender, Race, and Climate." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1388725654

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1388725654
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.