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As in many cities, utilitarian cycling is part of Toronto's climate strategy. For this tactic to work, cycling must occur throughout the city, yet despite most of the city's suitable short trips (60%) occurring in the suburbs, suburban residents cycle far less for transport than downtown residents where most cycling infrastructure is found. Nonetheless, some people in suburban areas cycle for transport, but little research focuses on suburban cycling. This has important implications for health, climate and equity. We used generalized structural equation modeling to analyze data from a survey of factors influencing utilitarian and recreational cycling among residents of a lower-income auto-oriented suburb lacking utilitarian cycling infrastructure (n = 215). Principal component analysis was used to develop latent attitudinal variables. The strongest predictors of utilitarian cycling were the frequency of recreational cycling, bike ownership, knowing people who bike, being male, and owning fewer cars. The strongest predictors of recreational cycling were bicycle ownership, knowing people who bike, knowing where to access repairs, and having attitudes strongly related to health and safety. Utilitarian cycling did not influence the frequency of recreational cycling. None of the latent attitudinal variables influenced utilitarian cycling. However, respondents scoring high in the expense and theft variable were more likely to live in lower income households. Those in higher income households scored higher on the health and safety variable. Results suggest group rides, access to bicycles and repairs, and ways to meet people who bike may be useful interventions to increase utilitarian cycling in suburban communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last mile between metro stations and commuters' homes or workplaces has become one of key topics in relation to metro ridership in megacities where more than 10 million people live. Although the public bicycle is widely believed to be one of new ways to solve the last-mile problem, the determinants of the use of public bicycles by commuters as a feeder mode have been scarcely discussed in the literature. This paper aims to contribute to this topic by using Beijing as a case study. Based on a travel survey among public bike users in Beijing, this study applied the binary logit model and cluster analysis to explore the determinants of public bike use around metro stations. The paper focused on three independent variables: route environment, socioeconomic factors, and travel distance. The results showed that middle-aged and medium-income commuters are more likely to use public bicycles as a feeder mode for metro transport. The built environment had significant effects on public bike use. Most of the cyclists preferred cycling routes with high directness, while high-income and high-education cyclists viewed comfort and safety of the trip as priority factors. Most trips were within 2 km, and a longer travel distance was significantly related to a higher possibility of public bicycle use. The findings and conclusions can enhance our existing understanding of public bike use as a feeder mode to solve the last mile problem and provide new evidence for policymaking on promoting public bikes in megacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]