title: The role of bicycle sharing systems in normalising the image of cycling: An observational study of London cyclists.
abstract: Bicycle sharing systems are increasingly popular around the world and have the potential to increase the visibility of people cycling in everyday clothing. This may in turn help normalise the image of cycling, and reduce perceptions that cycling is 'risky' or 'only for sporty people'. This paper sought to compare the use of specialist cycling clothing between users of the London bicycle sharing system (LBSS) and cyclists using personal bicycles. To do this, we observed 3594 people on bicycles at 35 randomly-selected locations across central and inner London. The 592 LBSS users were much less likely to wear helmets (16% vs. 64% among personal-bicycle cyclists), high-visibility clothes (11% vs. 35%) and sports clothes (2% vs. 25%). In total, 79% of LBSS users wore none of these types of specialist cycling clothing, as compared to only 30% of personal-bicycle cyclists. This was true of male and female LBSS cyclists alike (allp>0.25 for interaction). We conclude that bicycle sharing systems may not only encourage cycling directly, by providing bicycles to rent, but also indirectly, by increasing the number and diversity of cycling 'role models' visible.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK ; UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), Box 296, Institute of Public Health, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0SR, UK.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), Box 296, Institute of Public Health, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0SR, UK.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Woodcock
keywords: Bicycle sharing systems; Cycling; Gender; Helmets; Perceptions