Paper Details

TRB 90th Annual Meeting (January 23-27, 2011)

Event Number:	411
Event Title:	Bicycle Planning and Policy
Event Date:	Jan 24 2011 7:30PM- 9:30PM
Event Location:	Hilton, International Center
Event Description:
Event Agenda:

Reactions and Concerns with E-bikes in the United States: Insight from an Exploratory, Blogological Study (11-3212)

The performance of the bicycle, is dependent on the physical ability of the rider and the rider’s willingness to provide all the energy needed to reach their destination. The provision of power assistance to the rider, delivered by electric bicycle or E-bike, has the potential to expand the role of the bicycle in urban transport. Since E-bikes are vey much in the early adoption stage in the USA, their limited penetration into the urban transportation system calls for innovative approaches to enhance understanding of this mode. There is a growing recognition of the role that qualitative research techniques can play in the field of transportation research in general and travel behavior research in particular. While focus groups and ethnographic interviews are have seen application in transportation research broader forms of qualitative research, particularly media analysis, have seen less application. Academic researchers who are exploring the ways in which social computing affects and reflects society at large have been characterized as ‘blogologists’. In this paper an analysis of blog entries submitted in response to two on-line articles about E-bikes is used to provide insight into the use of this mode and issues of potential concern to the transportation profession. Consideration is given to user experiences and travel behavior impacts; non-user attitudes; road space allocation in mixed traffic; safety; environmental impacts; terminology, communication and lack of understanding.

Authors
     Rose, Geoffrey , Monash University, Australia
     Dill, Jennifer , Portland State University