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Attitudes and Preferences of University Student Bicyclists: The Tale of Two Greek Cities

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Advances in Mobility-as-a-Service Systems (CSUM 2020)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 1278))

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Abstract

Recently, the share of bicycles among transportation modes has been rising. This is also the case in university campuses that have seen an increase of bicycling as a transport mode. Transportation authorities globally encourage bicycling as a way for pollution reduction and alleviation of traffic congestion. However, lack of bicycle facilities could significantly hinder increase in bicycling levels. This study used in-person surveys to evaluate the attitudes and desires of bicyclists in two university campuses in Greece: Thessaloniki and Volos. The goal of the survey was to identify barriers to bicycling in both cities and pinpoint facility aspects that could be improved. Descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing were utilized in the analysis of the survey data to determine the level of agreement among participant responses and document their attitudes and preferences. Lack of bicycling facilities was the main impediment that respondents in both cities identified: a finding that agrees with prior research. In addition, the aggressive behavior of car drivers is considered an important obstacle in both cities. The survey findings support to the notion that bicyclists everywhere have similar attitudes about what the types of improvements required for increasing bicycling and enhancing their experiences. In addition, local conditions and practices have an impact on the relevance of specific issues.

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Acknowledgements

This work was completed as part of a Fulbright Fellowship grant.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Nikiforos Stamatiadis

  2. School of Rural and Surveying Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, AUTh Campus, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Andreas Nikiforiadis, Socrates Basbas & Elpida Karantagli

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Pedion Areos, 38334, Volos, Greece

    Pantelis Kopelias, Anastasia Sitra & Nikos Mantas

Authors
  1. Nikiforos Stamatiadis
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  2. Andreas Nikiforiadis
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  3. Socrates Basbas
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  4. Pantelis Kopelias
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  5. Elpida Karantagli
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  6. Anastasia Sitra
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  7. Nikos Mantas
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andreas Nikiforiadis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece

    Eftihia G. Nathanail

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece

    Giannis Adamos

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece

    Ioannis Karakikes

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Stamatiadis, N. et al. (2021). Attitudes and Preferences of University Student Bicyclists: The Tale of Two Greek Cities. In: Nathanail, E.G., Adamos, G., Karakikes, I. (eds) Advances in Mobility-as-a-Service Systems. CSUM 2020. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1278. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61075-3_91

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61075-3_91

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-61074-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-61075-3

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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