Cycling mode choice amongst US commuters: The role of climate and topography

2020/10/28 by Justin Tyndall · 1 voice · 1 citation
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Economic and Environmental Valuation #Transportation Planning and Optimization #Urban Transport and Accessibility

paper · doi:10.1177/0042098020957583

openalex publication_date 2020/10/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/10

Abstract

Cycling to work is uncommon in most areas of the USA but relatively common in a particular set of metros and neighbourhoods. Explanations for this spatial heterogeneity often focus on differences in local geography, with some areas being allegedly more suitable for cycling. I estimate the role of topography and climate in determining the share of a metro’s workers who cycle to work and the probability a particular worker chooses to cycle. I combine a USA-wide data set of commute flows with detailed elevation and climate data. I find that climate and topography play essentially no role in explaining cycling mode share across metros. Across workers, the hilliness of a commuter’s route is found to be statistically irrelevant to cycling mode choice.

Citations

• The Impact of the Built Environment on Bicycle Commuting: Evidence from Beijing
• Estimation of Limited Dependent Variable Models With Dummy Endogenous Regressors
• Myopia and Inconsistency in Dynamic Utility Maximization

Cited by

• Complementarity of dockless mircomobility and rail transit

Discussions

• Counterpoint to bike lane critics claiming their city is too [cold / hot / hilly] for many people to cycle: "Climate and topography play essentially no role in explaining cycling mode share across me [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]