Can anyone hate the bicycle? The hunt for an optimal local transportation policy to encourage bicycle usage

Abstract

Policies to promote bicycle usage in the city of Seville, Spain, are analysed, focusing on the development of a public hire-cycle system, and utilising a survey sample of 1530 citizens in the main parts of the historical old town and generalised ordered logit models. Despite the system being wellreceived and there being a growing number of users and a major modal shift towards the bicycle, it has had to contend with protests and reticence from some sectors of the population. Political and ideological variables are significant, and citizens’ philosophy of a ‘global city’. A policy of this type demands a proper citizen consultation process and a suitable communication campaign to illustrate its advantages in terms of environmental protection and social justice, otherwise the risk is run of hostility turning to vandalism and endangering the scheme’s economic viability