Policy, users and discourses: examples from bikeshare programs in (Kolkata) India and (Manila) Philippines

This paper examines two bikeshare programs implemented in two Global South cities, examining the role of users in promoting sustainable transport. To explore the sustainability of smart cycling, we argue that it is important to understand the prevailing administrative and socio-institutional practices within a given context. For the effective stabilisation of smart regimes, harmony between the administrative and socio-institutional practices must be established. In this context, we introduce a complementary approach to understanding transitions. Maintenance of political commitments and institutional support are crucial for cycling success, not incidental footloose initiatives. We explore two case studies in the context of the Global South, in the first one top-down policies and planning initiatives dictate the directions of transitions by enabling or constraining user routines. In the second one, citizens take control to resolve a transport deficit by initiating and driving a very bottom-up user-led transition narrative. We propose a framework to cater to the unique political, cultural and smart discourses of the Global South and the role of users in conjunction with the administrative and socio-institutional practices around them. Investigating both the bikeshare cases through the lens of this framework provides unique insights extending our knowledge beyond the built environment features of sustainable planning initiatives. Our findings reveal the complex narratives that are in play in developing nations and conclude that understanding and realising cycling transitions in southern megacities require a different approach compared to the Global North

JTLU special issue editorial: Bicycling in changing urban regions

As communities around the globe contemplate the future of their transport portfolio, bicycling's role has increasingly cropped up as a key discussion point. Up until a few years ago, bicycling's value was largely fueled by a loyal advocacy base. Its potential was littered with unsupported claims and bicycling struggled to obtain legitimate status, even as, or precisely because of its status as a "fringe mode." This context has recently changed. Concomitant with—or perhaps prompted by—a rise in (public and policy attention for) bicycling, there has been a rise in research specifically on bicycling. In just a few years, bicycling's stock has risen to be a mode that is commanding attention in cities of all sizes. Furthermore, its role and value are informed by a burgeoning evidence base, increasingly in the form of peer-reviewed work. This evidence base allows, among other things, a more reflective appreciation for bicycling's position in transport systems and for bicycling to be better understood in different geographical contexts

Understanding cycling regime transition and inequality in the Global South: case study of an Indian megacity

There has been a growing interest in the practice of cycling as a central element in the configuration of a society that can be more sustainable in terms of its mobility systems. This paper suggests that in order to move towards the development of more sustainable cycling societies, we need to pay more attention to relations of inequalities that might be embedded within existing cycling practices. More specifically, drawing on Mobilities research conducted in the car-centric city of Birmingham, it aims to unpack the wider set of inequalities – for example, gender, class, ethnic, employment, economic, to name a few – that can be enacted through the practice of cycling as well as the multiple spaces of exclusion that can be produced or reinforced in relation to such inequalities. It thus suggests that understanding the inherent immobilities that might be embedded even in the most unexpected systems of mobilities, such as cycling, is pivotal for not only locating cycling in the centre of developing more sustainable societies, but also realising the centrality of the usually ignored ‘social’ in the pursuit of sustainable mobilities

Predicting the evolution of social networks with life cycle events Predicting the evolution of social networks with life cycle events

Abstract This paper presents a model of social network evolution, to predict and simulate changes in social networks induced by lifecycle events. We argue that social networks change with lifecycle events, and we extend a model of friendship selection to incorporate these dynamics of personal social networks. The model uses theories of homophily and reciprocity and is formulated in a random utility maximization framework to predict the formation of social ties between individuals in the population. It is then extended to predict the evolution of social networks in response to life cycle events. The model is estimated using attribute data of a national sample and an event-based retrospective dataset collected in 2009 and 2011 respectively. Findings suggest that homophily has a strong effect on the formation of new ties. However, heterophily also plays a role in maintaining existing ties. Although the motivation of this research stems from incorporating social network dynamics in large-scale travel behaviour micro-simulation models, the research can be used in a variety of fields for similar purposes

Whom to hang out with and where? Analysis of the influence of spatial setting on the choice of activity company

Over the past decade there has been an increasing interest into to role of social interactions and social networks for activities and travel. This coincides with a growing awareness that social and recreational trips make up a considerable share of total mobility and deserve more attention in order to understand trends in mobility. Given this trend remarkably little attention has been given to the investigation of the choice of company for social and recreational activities and travel. This paper contributes to filling this gap, by presenting estimation results of models of company choice for social activities, shopping, sport and recreation and cultural activities, based on activity diary data collected in 2007 in the Netherlands. Specific attention is given to the influence of urban form and accessibility of services on company choice. The estimation results suggest that accessibility of facilities has an impact on company choice. However, the mechanisms seem to differ between activity types. For social activities, shopping and sports/recreation, it seems that better access to facilities leads to more joint activity participation, presumably because coordination between involved parties in time and space becomes easier. In other cases (social and cultural activities), close access to facilities seems to lead to a higher probability of single activity engagement, possibly since impulsive activities (usually single) are easier to implement and pooling of facilities is not necessary

Dynamic social networks and travel

A social network is a representation of an individual’s social connectedness. Fields as distinct as health, psychology and marketing are involved in social network research. A recent promising addition is the field of travel behaviour. In travel behaviour research, traditional factors of interests are facets of travel choice (such as frequency and transport mode) and ownership of mobility resources (such as car, bicycle, discount cards, period travel passes). Gradually, the concern shifted from trip-based to activity-based approaches to model travel properly as a derived demand from the activities that people conduct in space and time. The attention also shifted from individuals to households. Consequently, joint activity scheduling, task allocation, and resource allocation were incorporated in the choice models (Borgers et al. 2002; Ettema et al. 2004; Schwanen et al. 2007; Zhang et al. 2005). However, joint activities do not only involve household members, but may also include members of a person’s social network. Often, we negotiate with our friends and family about where to go for holidays, who should host the New Year party or what movie to go to this weekend. Each individual is part of social networks and individual behaviour will be influenced by peer groups. Spatial behaviour analysis is incomplete without an understanding of this social dimension. To better understand people’s activity-travel patterns, we need to understand how people select and organize their social contacts, adding a whole new dimension of transport behaviour modelling research. However, there is another distinct, and often ignored, feature of personal social networks: it is dynamic. It changes with time and with life course. In this Chapter, we emphasize the need to explain social networks and corresponding activity behaviour in a dynamic perspective. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of constraints and benefits of incorporating these dynamics and suggest directions of future research