The role of motivations and perceived ability to cycle as a mode of transport in an emerging cycling culture - the case study of Cork Metropolitan Area, Ireland

Sammanfattning: Cycling as mode of transport can be seen as a sustainable and active mode of travel that can be part of the solution for climate change and urban congestion. Many cities in Europe are now investing in cycling to reduce their carbon emissions and make their spaces more liveable and accessible. Some cities have arguably already achieved an advanced cycling culture where cycling is normalised and woven in the lived experiences of a person’s biography. However, for cities with an emerging cycling culture that are determined to increase the modal share of cycling, there is a lack of consensus as to how to most efficiently approach this and what obstacles must be addressed to encourage cycling uptake. To understand how an emerging cycling culture can progress towards an advanced cycling culture, this thesis investigates the determinants of taking up cycling as mode of transport in the emerging cycling culture of Cork Metropolitan Area, Ireland. Utilising the Theory of Planned Behaviour from Psychology and the Politics of Mobility from Human Geography, the role of motivations and perceived ability to cycle are explored to investigate what are the most important factors that explain why people do and do not cycle. Such analysis is supported by a human and physical infrastructure lens where mobility and its material and immaterial dimensions are highlighted to understand travel behaviours. This thesis contributes to literature in the new mobilities paradgim and knowledge of mobility as a fundamental spatial process interconnecting people and places. It highlights how geographic movement becomes entangled in the way societies and cultures assign meaning through practice and representations. From dissemination of an online survey on travel behaviour and perceptions of cycling, to conducting semi-structured interviews with cyclist and non-cyclist students at University College Cork, it was found that perceived self-efficacy to cycle is more important than the motivations for why students do and do not cycle. More specifically, convenience appears to be the foundation for all travel behaviour decisions. For cyclists, convenience is the main reason they expose themselves to the dangers of the road, while for non-cyclists, the convenience of their current mode of transport is the main reason for not taking up cycling. The identification of encouraging and discouraging factors for utilitarian cycling and why people do and do not cycle in Cork can provide guidance for decision makers in Cork City Council as to how to encourage cycling uptake efficiently and address the barriers that some may face when attempting to cycle in the Metropolitan Area.