Descrição

Research on the role of bicycling for health through physical activity has been limited by the lack of
information on where bicyclists ride. New big data sources available through smartphone-based
applications provide a rich source to provide bicycle volume data more comparable to the scale of
information available for automotive and public transit modes. In the case of smartphone apps for fitness
tracking, results of this data can be used similar to the growing application of global positioning systems
for automotive travel surveying. The authors evaluate data from Travis County, Texas for the purpose of
determining where bicyclists ride, primarily for fitness purposes. Ride trip volumes are evaluated with
residential and employment density, land use diversity, bicycle facilities and terrain to characterize
places chosen for bicycling for health. Though limited to bicycle rides and routes voluntarily logged using
the smartphone app, this method provides promise for applications in multi-modal transportation
planning and health impact assessment studies.