Journal: Journal of Transport & Health

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Elsevier

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2214-1405
2214-1413

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2015 - 201952020 - 20262
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Publications 1 - 7 of 7
  • The public bicycle-sharing scheme in Brisbane, Australia
    Item type: Journal Article
    Heinen, Eva; Kamruzzaman, Md.; Turrell, Gavin (2018)
    Journal of Transport & Health
    Background: Active travel may improve individual health as it contributes to higher levels of physical activity, particularly in an aging society. Bicycle-sharing schemes may contribute to public health by encouraging active travel. Aim: To investigate whether exposure to a bicycle-sharing scheme—measured as residential proximity to a bicycle station—was associated with the propensity to use it. Second, we aimed to study the extent to which exposure to the scheme was associated with a change in time spent cycling. Method: In this natural-experimental study, we analysed a large panel of residents in Brisbane, Australia, who were surveyed before and after the introduction of a bicycle-sharing scheme in 2010. Data were collected as part of the HABITAT study, a multilevel longitudinal investigation of physical activity and health among ‘baby boomers’ (persons aged 40–65). Data were collected in 2009 (n = 7866), 2011 (n = 6900), and 2013 (n = 6520). Two self-reported outcome variables were examined: (1) a stages-of-change variable measuring the likelihood of using the scheme and the intention to use it in the future, and (2) change in time spent cycling between 2009 and 2013. Results: In the unadjusted model, proximity was significantly associated with stages of change, but became non-significant after adjustment. Moreover, higher levels of exposure to the inter vention did not predict a change in time spent cycling. Younger respondents and respondents with a higher education level were more likely to consider using the bicycle-sharing scheme. Individuals who had a college degree were more likely to have used this scheme. Conclusion: Residential proximity to a bicycle-sharing station was not found to be associated with the use of the bicycle-sharing scheme nor did its introduction significantly predict an increase in time spent cycling. Other interventions may be more supportive of increasing cycling in the baby boomer cohort, and, thereby, improving their overall health.
  • Socioeconomic inequalities in cycling safety
    Item type: Journal Article
    Vidal Tortosa, Eugeni; Lovelace, Robin; Heinen, Eva; et al. (2021)
    Journal of Transport & Health
    Introduction Previous studies have found a positive association between cycling injury risk and residential deprivation. However, most of these studies focused on serious and fatal injuries, children, and a specific point in time. This study explores i) inequalities in cycling injury risk by residential deprivation for all recorded casualties (slight, serious, and fatal) in England, ii) whether these inequalities vary by sex and age, and iii) how they have changed over time. Methods Using the STATS19 database of road traffic casualties in Britain, the English National Travel Survey, and population estimates for England over the six-year period 2014–2019, we estimated the ratio of slight, serious, and fatal cycling casualties per billion kilometres cycled by residential Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintile; by residential IMD quintile and sex and age group; and by residential IMD quintile and year. Results We found that the higher the level of residential deprivation, the higher the slight and serious cycling injury risk. The fatal cycling injury risk was also higher in individuals from the most deprived areas. Inequalities were particularly large for children, with slight and serious rates three times higher for children from the most deprived areas than for children from the least deprived areas. We also found that the linear trend lines of the slight and serious injury rates between 2014 and 2019 declined in the least deprived quintiles but not in the most deprived quintiles, which suggests that inequalities in slight and serious cycling injuries may have grown over the last years. Conclusion This study found that people from deprived areas are at higher risk of cycling injury for all types of severity; that children from deprived areas are most at risk; and that these inequalities may have recently increased.
  • Does exposure to new transport infrastructure result in modal shifts?
    Item type: Journal Article
    Heinen, Eva; Harshfield, Amelia; Panter, Jenna; et al. (2017)
    Journal of Transport & Health
    Intervention studies suggest that changing the built environment may encourage a modal shift from car travel towards active travel. However, little is known about the detail of patterns of changes in travel behaviour.
  • The health impacts of traffic-related exposures in urban areas
    Item type: Journal Article
    Khreis, Haneen; Warsow, Karyn M.; Verlinghieri, Ersilia; et al. (2016)
    Journal of Transport & Health
    The world is currently witnessing its largest surge of urban growth in human history; a trend that draws attention to the need to understand and address health impacts of urban living. Whilst transport is instrumental in this urbanisation wave, it also has significant positive and negative impacts on population health, which are disproportionately distributed. In this paper, we bring together expertise in transport engineering, transport and urban planning, research and strategic management, epidemiology and health impact assessment in an exercise to scope and discuss the health impacts of transport in urban areas. Adopting a cross-disciplinary, co-production approach, we explore the key driving forces behind the current state of urban mobility and outline recommendations for practices that could facilitate positioning health at the core of transport design, planning and policy. Current knowledge on the health-related impacts of urban transport shows that motor vehicle traffic is causing significant premature mortality and morbidity through motor vehicle crashes, physical inactivity and traffic-related environmental exposures including increases in air pollution, noise and temperature levels, as well as reductions in green space. Trends of rapid and car-centred urbanisation, mass motorisation and a tendency of policy to favour car mobility and undervalue health in the transport and development agenda has both led to, and exacerbated the negative health impacts of the transport systems. Simultaneously, we also argue that the benefits of new transport schemes on the economy are emphasised whilst the range and severity of identified health impacts associated with transport are often downplayed. We conclude the paper by outlining stakeholders’ recommendations for the adoption of a cross-disciplinary co-production approach that takes a health-aware perspective and has the potential to promote a paradigm shift in transport practices.
  • Outdoor lighting and active travel
    Item type: Journal Article
    Vidal-Tortosa, Eugeni; Heinen, Eva; Uttley, Jim; et al. (2026)
    Journal of Transport & Health
    Introduction: The benefits of active travel are well-established. While previous research has explored how built environment factors (such as population density, accessibility, land use, and infrastructure) influence active travel, micro-scale features like outdoor lighting have received less attention. This study examines associations between outdoor lighting levels and active travel in Glasgow, accounting for broader contextual factors and distinguishing between daylight and dark conditions. Methods: We used Strava data, satellite-derived outdoor lighting imagery, and other spatial datasets aggregated to small-area zones in Glasgow. Bayesian spatial models (Besag–York–Mollié) were fitted to estimate associations between contextual variables and distances travelled on foot, by bike, and by both modes combined, separately for daylight and dark hours. Results: Outdoor lighting levels derived from night-time satellite imagery were positively associated with walking, cycling, and overall active-travel distances during both light conditions (daylight and dark). These associations were stronger during dark hours, particularly for cycling. Several contextual relationships also varied by light condition: industrial density was positively associated with cycling only during daylight, while quietness and gradient showed stronger associations during daylight. Population and income deprivation were negatively associated across all modes under both light conditions. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the potential relevance of lighting in shaping active travel patterns after dark, particularly for cycling. They also highlight the need for future research that considers light conditions and time of day in environmental studies of mobility, as well as across broader contexts, specific locations, and diverse population groups – to better inform equitable and effective active travel policy.
  • The mortality impact of bicycle paths and lanes related to physical activity, air pollution exposure and road safety
    Item type: Journal Article
    Schepers, Paul; Fishman, Elliot; Beelen, Rob; et al. (2015)
    Journal of Transport & Health
    Objective Guidelines for bicycle infrastructure design tend to consider safety issues but not wider health issues. This paper explores the overall health impact of bicycle infrastructure provision, including not just road safety impacts, but also the population health impacts stemming from physical activity as well as cyclists׳ exposure to air pollution. Data and methods We have summarised key publications on how bicycle paths and lanes affect cyclists׳ exposure to physical activity, air pollution, and road safety. The health impact is modelled using all-cause mortality as a metric for a scenario with new bicycle lanes and paths in a hypothetical city. Results The outcomes of the study suggest that, based on currently available research, a reduction of all-cause mortality is to be expected from building bicycle lanes and paths along busy roads with mixed traffic. Increased physical activity through more time spent cycling is the major contribution, but is also the most uncertain aspect. Effects related to air pollution and cycling safety are likely to reduce mortality but are small. The overall benefits are large enough to achieve a high benefit-cost ratio for bicycle infrastructure. Conclusions The introduction of bicycle paths and lanes is likely to be associated with health benefits, primarily due to increased physical activity. More research is needed to estimate the absolute size of the health benefits. In particular, evaluations of the effects of bicycle infrastructure on time spent cycling are limited or of insufficient quality to infer causality. We recommend before-after studies measuring the effects of different interventions and in areas representing a wide range of base levels of cycling participation.
  • Variability in baseline travel behaviour as a predictor of changes in commuting by active travel, car and public transport
    Item type: Journal Article
    Heinen, Eva; Ogilvie, David (2016)
    Journal of Transport & Health
    Purpose To strengthen our understanding of the impact of baseline variability in mode choice on the likelihood of travel behaviour change. Methods Quasi-experimental analyses in a cohort study of 450 commuters exposed to a new guided busway with a path for walking and cycling in Cambridge, UK. Exposure to the intervention was defined using the shortest network distance from each participant’s home to the busway. Variability in commuter travel behaviour at baseline was defined using the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index, the number of different modes of transport used over a week, and the proportion of trips made by the main (combination of) mode(s). The outcomes were changes in the share of commute trips (i) involving any active travel, (ii) involving any public transport, and (iii) made entirely by car. Variability and change data were derived from a self-reported seven-day record collected before (2009) and after (2012) the intervention. Separate multinomial regression models were estimated to assess the influence of baseline variability on behaviour change, both independently and as an interaction effect with exposure to the intervention. Results All three measures of variability predicted changes in mode share in most models. The effect size for the intervention was slightly strengthened after including variability. Commuters with higher baseline variability were more likely to increase their active mode share (e.g. for HHI: relative risk ratio [RRR] for interaction 3.34, 95% CI 1.41, 7.89) and decrease their car mode share in response to the intervention (e.g. for HHI: RRR 7.50, 95% CI 2.52, 22.34). Conclusions People reporting a higher level of variability in mode choice were more likely to change their travel behaviour following an intervention. Future research should consider such variability as a potential predictor and effect modifier of travel and physical activity behaviour change, and its significance for the design and targeting of interventions.
Publications 1 - 7 of 7