Benign mobility? Electric bicycles, sustainable transport consumption behaviour and socio-technical transitions in Nanjing, China. (September 2017) - Lin, Xiao
Highlights: The paper offers new insights into the reasons for electric bicycle adoption in China. The attitudes of other road users and pedestrians are also revealed. Electric bicycles are found to be strongly embedded in Nanjing city. Abstract: In this paper, we ask whether electric bicycle (e-bike) use in urban China is a temporary phase or an embedded form of sustainable mobility. A survey was conducted in Nanjing in order to assess the characteristics and attitudes of electric bicycle users and other mode users (e.g. pedestrians; car drivers). Based on over 1000 responses a Logit Model was used to analyse current and future mode choice. The results show that electric bicycles are not necessarily displacing cars on a substantial scale, but are rather displacing the 'benign' modes of walking, traditional bicycling, and using the bus. We conclude that electric bicycles are helping to enable mobility-dependent lifestyles that may in the future be supported by cars, rather than offering a true departure from carbon-centred, motorized forms of transport.