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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
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Cycle highways and their impact on transport behaviour - A comparative study between Denmark and the Netherlands

Author

Term

4. semester

Publication year

2019

Submitted on

Pages

105

Abstract

Cycle highways are high-standard bicycle routes designed to enable fast, efficient long-distance cycling and are promoted to reduce congestion, CO2 emissions, and land use pressures in growing cities. This thesis asks how cycle highways affect travel behavior, and compares one route in Denmark (the Farum route) with one in the Netherlands (the F35) using a questionnaire survey, manual cyclist counts, and unstructured field observations. Findings indicate that most users are commuters who ride more than 20 km per day on average, five days a week. Many respondents report changes in mode choice and trip distance since the cycle highways were established. In Denmark, most shifted from public transport to cycling, whereas in the Netherlands the majority shifted from driving to cycling. Overall, the results suggest that cycle highways stimulate a modal shift toward cycling, supporting policy goals of relieving road congestion and lowering CO2 emissions.

Cykelmotorveje er højklassede cykelruter, der gør det muligt at cykle hurtigt og effektivt over lange afstande, og de anvendes som virkemiddel til at mindske trængsel, CO2-udledning og arealforbrug i voksende byer. Dette speciales forskningsspørgsmål er, hvilken effekt cykelmotorveje har på transportadfærd. Studiet sammenligner en rute i Danmark (Farumruten) og en i Nederlandene (F35) med en kombination af spørgeskemaundersøgelse, manuelle cykeltællinger og ustrukturerede observationer. Resultaterne viser, at størstedelen af brugerne er pendlere, som i gennemsnit cykler over 20 km dagligt fem dage om ugen. Mange respondenter angiver ændringer i valg af transportform og rejseafstand efter etableringen af cykelmotorvejene. I Danmark har de fleste skiftet fra kollektiv trafik til cykling, mens det i Nederlandene især er bilister, der er skiftet til cykel. Samlet peger resultaterne på, at cykelmotorveje bidrager til et modal shift mod cykling og dermed understøtter politiske mål om at aflaste vejnettet og reducere CO2-udledning.

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