This thesis examines factors that influence the daily number of trip departures and arrivals at over 100 hubs comprising Hamilton, Ontario’s (Canada) bike share program – SoBi (Social Bicycles) Hamilton. SoBi operates all year, and during its first year of operation (April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016), over 200,000 trips were generated on SoBi bikes. The study utilizes data from SoBi Hamilton, the 2011 Canadian Census, the 2011 Transportation Tomorrow Survey, Environment Canada, and Hamilton’s Open Source Data initiative. From these master files, daily trips, meteorological data, temporal variables, socio-demographic and built environment attributes were obtained to generate a comprehensive suite of explanatory variables to explain the daily trips at each hub. A multilevel regression approach was used to understand the associations between bike share usage at each hub and each suite of explanatory variables at two temporal scales: total daily trips at hubs and total daily trips across four time periods of the day. Findings demonstrate that weather and temporal attributes play a significant role in trip departures and arrivals. In addition, hub attributes vary in significance throughout different times of the day for trip departures and arrivals. Overall, the methodology and findings allow us to identify factors that increase SoBi usage, which can also benefit city planners and engineers who are implementing a bike share system with the goal of maximizing bike share activity in urban centers. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Active travel can provide short-term and long-term health benefits and has the ability to reduce the negative externalities of vehicular traffic, for example, congestion, land consumption, and air pollution. However, exposure to air pollution is higher for pedestrians and cyclists than other road users when considering inhalation rate and travel distance. Route choice for active travel is a potential strategy to reduce the adverse impact of exposure to air pollution. Multi-use trails could be an effective way to reduce health impacts as the pollutant concentration is typically lower on trails, however, proximity to nearby roadways can deteriorate the air quality in multi-use trails. The goal of this study is to investigate the air pollutant concentrations on multi-use trails adjacent to different roadway classification and identify the factors that influence air quality in multi-use trails. I collected pollutant concentrations of PM2.5, particle number, and black carbon using mobile monitoring on an e-bike. I identified five trail routes that run parallel to an interstate highway, principal arterial, and local roads for this study and collected pollutant concentrations during morning, afternoon, and weekend afternoon peak hours. The average concentration of PM2.5, particle number, and black carbon was 15.62 µg/m3, 9,857 pt/cc, and 595.36 ng/m3 respectively among all the trail routes used for this study. I observed higher pollutant concentrations during morning peak hours than afternoon peak hours. Also, concentrations were lower on weekends than weekdays. The pollutant concentrations were different among multi-use trails based on their proximity and characteristics of nearby roadways. The pollutant concentrations significantly declined when the trail segment was 50-100 meters away as compared to segments within 50 meters of nearby interstates, freeways, or collectors. Concentrations increased significantly for trail segments having a nearby road Annual Average Daily Travel (AADT) of more than 32,000. The regression models explain 65%, 59%, and 52% of variability in the PM2.5, particle number, and black carbon concentrations respectively. Nearby road AADT and road density were found to be significant for PM2.5, particle number, and black carbon concentrations. Cooking place (rest areas with barbeque grills) and construction sites were significant and positively associated with PM2.5 concentrations. Airport and construction sites near trails showed a positive relation to the particle number concentration. Parking spaces near trails increase the concentration of black carbon along trails. This study shows the impact of roadway proximity on the air quality of trails which should be considered by municipalities while planning for multi-use trail network to mitigate health risks of pedestrians and bicyclists on trails. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning / Traffic related pollutants such as PM2.5, particle number, and black carbon can cause short and long terms health impacts. Exposure to these pollutants varies by travel mode, duration, route selection, etc. People who bike or walk have higher exposure than other users when taking the inhalation rate and travel duration into account. Hence, route choice is important in active travel. Multi-use trails could be effective to reduce exposure as the pollutant concentrations are typically lower on multi-use trails. However, multi-use trails are often in close proximity to pollution sources (i.e. roadways). This study focuses on identifying the impacts of road proximity and other determinants of air quality along multi-use trails. I selected five multi-use trails based on the classification of adjacent roadway and collected air quality data. I found that air quality differs along trails based on the proximity of nearby roadway and the trail route along interstate highway had the highest concentration of pollutants. The concentrations of pollutants were higher during morning than afternoon and also, it was higher during the weekdays than weekends. Trail segments within 0-50m distance of a nearby interstate or freeway had the highest concentration which decreased as the distance from the interstate or freeway increased. Construction site, airport, and BBQ place along trails also worsened air quality on multi-use trails. This study demonstrates the importance of selecting trail locations when planning for the trail network to improve the air quality on multi-use trails that will further improve the benefits of active travel.

Walking and cycling are considered very important behaviours in public health. This thesis is a study of the measurement of walking, cycling and overall travel behaviour. In the first part I present a systematic review of studies comparing Global Positioning System (GPS) measured travel to self-report. I found 12 results from eight eligible studies. All studies showed self-reported journey times were greater than GPS measured times. The differences ranged from over-reporting of +2.2 to +13.5 minutes per journey. In the second part of this thesis, I describe the development of a feasible, valid and reliable method for measuring travel with automated wearable cameras (SenseCam) through field testing and two pilot studies. I compared my new method to direct observation (considered a criterion measure) and found very good agreement and reliability (inter-rater, intra-rater and inter-measure). I also present an ethical framework for the measurement of health-related behaviours using automated wearable cameras. In the third part of the thesis, I report findings from an experiment designed to assess a well known UK travel diary (The National Travel Survey). Across four locations (Oxford, UK; Romford, UK; San Diego, USA; and Auckland, New Zealand) I collected 3-4 days of SenseCam and travel diary data from n=84 participants (convenience sample). Compliance with the collection protocol was high and inspection of the crude results suggests relative agreement between measures. Analysis of matched pairs of measurements (n=1,127 journeys) suggests a significant positive bias on self-reported durations (2:08 minutes; 95% CI = 1:48 to 2:28; 95% limits-of-agreement = -9:10 to 13:26). These results suggest self-reported journey exposure is valid at a population level, though corrections according to my reported bias could be considered. The large limits of agreement on duration estimates suggest self-report may be unsuitable for assessment of individual travel behaviour.

Interest in school transportation has emerged in response to concern over the reduced levels of physical activity among children and youth. Recent Canadian policies emphasize population health intervention to encourage active travel among this younger population; urban planners and public health professionals have also highlighted the importance of the neighbourhood built environment. However, this “child-youth friendly” turn in policy and planning practice, particularly in Canada, has arguably occurred in advance of conclusive and generalizable knowledge about the relationship between the built environment and children’s travel. Within this context, this thesis is the first quantitative research that examines school transportation mode choice behaviour in the largest Canadian city, the City of Toronto. At first, a Behavioural Model of School Transportation was outlined. This exercise was followed by three empirical studies that explored school travel by children and youth, using travel data from Transportation Tomorrow Survey. The first of these three studies investigated the association between the built environment and the likelihood of walking or being driven, for journeys to and from school. The next study focused on a measurement issue; the potential influence of the modifiable areal unit problem on statistical modelling of the built environment - mode choice relationship was examined. Lastly, the potential influence of travel interactions among household members, the built environment, and unobservable spatial dependency (i.e., spatial auto-correlation), on school travel outcome of children and youth, were examined. The results indicated that caregiver availability may influence travel mode choice. The built environment near both home and school locations was associated with the likelihood of walking. In addition, the correlates of mode choice were different between children and youth, which perhaps, reflects a child’s cognitive development with age as an independent traveller. These findings suggest the need for neighbourhood-wide improvement in the built environment, and age-specific population health interventions at schools and in the communities.

Introduction: Physical activity (PA) in Canadian adolescents is low, and active travel to school is an important source of PA. Neighbourhood walkability is linked to youth PA, and may also be related to school travel behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to explore the association between adolescents’ school travel-PA, school travel mode, and walkability in urban and suburban neighbourhoods. Methods: Adolescents (n=234; grade 8-10) were sampled from schools in a high walkability urban (n=52) and a low walkability suburban neighbourhood (n=182). PA was measured by accelerometry (ActiGraph; ≥4d 600 min·d-1), and converted from activity counts to minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Travel-PA was derived from minutes of MVPA accrued during the hour before and after school. Travel mode was self-reported (i.e., walk, bike, transit, school bus, car). Analyses were stratified by sex and travel mode (Stata v.10). Results: Valid travel data were provided by 224 participants (49.6% girls). Prevalence of travel modes differed significantly between urban and suburban boys (χ2=25.4, p<0.001) and girls (χ2=21.0, p<0.001). Valid PA and travel data were available for an analytical sample (n=91, 58.2% girls). Differences in collapsed modes (active vs. passive) were not significant between cohorts for boys (χ2=1.5, p=0.22) or girls (χ2=0.3, p=0.61). Minutes of travel-PA were significantly higher in urban than suburban boys for both active (29.4±9.2 vs. 11.0±9.2, p<0.001) and passive travel (22.6±2.7 vs. 8.8±7.4, p<0.001). There were no significant differences in girls. Conclusion: These results suggest that neighbourhood walkability may be associated with school travel-PA in boys, regardless of travel mode. More research is needed to understand this association in girls. The research also showed travel modes were different between neighbourhood cohorts, but when modes were collapsed into larger categories (passive and active) they were not. Future research should analyse school travel-PA by detailed travel modes whenever possible. / Graduate / 0573 / afrazer@uvic.ca

Interest in school transportation has emerged in response to concern over the reduced levels of physical activity among children and youth. Recent Canadian policies emphasize population health intervention to encourage active travel among this younger population; urban planners and public health professionals have also highlighted the importance of the neighbourhood built environment. However, this “child-youth friendly” turn in policy and planning practice, particularly in Canada, has arguably occurred in advance of conclusive and generalizable knowledge about the relationship between the built environment and children’s travel. Within this context, this thesis is the first quantitative research that examines school transportation mode choice behaviour in the largest Canadian city, the City of Toronto. At first, a Behavioural Model of School Transportation was outlined. This exercise was followed by three empirical studies that explored school travel by children and youth, using travel data from Transportation Tomorrow Survey. The first of these three studies investigated the association between the built environment and the likelihood of walking or being driven, for journeys to and from school. The next study focused on a measurement issue; the potential influence of the modifiable areal unit problem on statistical modelling of the built environment - mode choice relationship was examined. Lastly, the potential influence of travel interactions among household members, the built environment, and unobservable spatial dependency (i.e., spatial auto-correlation), on school travel outcome of children and youth, were examined. The results indicated that caregiver availability may influence travel mode choice. The built environment near both home and school locations was associated with the likelihood of walking. In addition, the correlates of mode choice were different between children and youth, which perhaps, reflects a child’s cognitive development with age as an independent traveller. These findings suggest the need for neighbourhood-wide improvement in the built environment, and age-specific population health interventions at schools and in the communities.

Dagens samhälle belastas av transportrelaterade utsläpp av växthusgaser, trängsel i tätorter och ohälsa på grund av stillasittande, något som cykelpendling skulle kunna motverka. Syftet med denna rapport har därför varit att kartlägga pendlingsvanor hos anställda vid Region Blekinges sjukhus i Karlskrona, samt ta reda på vilka faktorer som hindrar respektive främjar cykelpendling till arbetsplatsen. Resultatet av undersökningen skulle kunna användas av arbetsgivaren inför beslut av olika främjande åtgärder för ökad cykelpendling.För att erhålla erforderliga data till resultatet togs en webbenkät fram, som sedan varit tillgänglig för samtliga regionanställda inom sjukhusområdet. Enkätsvaren har därefter analyserats och presenterats i form av ett antal diagram med tillhörande beskrivning, så kallad deskriptiv statistik.Resultatet visade att en större andel av de manliga respondenterna cyklade, jämfört med de kvinnliga respondenterna, där större andel åkte bil till arbetsplatsen. Enkätsvaren påvisade också skillnader i pendlingsvanorna mellan de olika förvaltningarna. Flest och störst andel cyklister återfanns hos Hälso- och sjukvård (vårdpersonal). Denna grupp hade också i genomsnitt kortast avstånd till arbetet, vilket har en stark koppling till benägenheten att cykelpendla. De främsta angivna hindren till cykling var avståndet och vädret, medan de främsta skälen som angavs till att cykelpendla var hälsoskäl och miljöskäl.De faktorer som skulle kunna öka cykelpendlingen till Blekingesjukhuset i Karlskrona, enligt enkätundersökningen, var främst: säkrare färdväg för cyklister, säkrare/tryggare cykelförvaring på arbetsplatsen, friskvårdstimme som kunde användas till cykelpendling, möjlighet att medföra cykel på lokalbuss och bättre ombytes- och duschmöjligheter på arbetsplatsen. / Today's society is burdened by transport - related greenhouse gas emissions, congestion in urban areas and health problems due to sedentary living, something that bicycle commuting could counteract. The purpose of this report has been to map commuting habits among employees at Region Blekinge Hospital in Karlskrona, and to find out which factors prevent and promote bicycle commuting to the workplace. The results of the survey could be used by the employer before decisions are made on various supporting arrangements for increased bicycle commuting.To obtain the necessary data for the result, an online survey was produced, which was then available to all regional employees in the hospital area. The questionnaire responses were then analysed and presented in the form of several diagrams with an accompanying description, so-called descriptive statistics.The results showed that a larger proportion of the male respondents cycled, compared with the female respondents, where a larger proportion were travelling by car to the workplace. The survey results also showed differences in the commuting habits between the different administrations. Most and largest proportion of cyclists were found at Health and Medical Care (care staff). This group also had on average the shortest distance to work, which has a strong connection to the tendency to commute by bicycle. The main stated obstacles to cycling were the distance and the weather, while the main reasons given for cycling were health and environmental reasons.The factors that could increase bicycle commuting to Blekinge Hospital in Karlskrona, according to the survey, were mainly: safer route for cyclists, safer / safer bicycle storage at the workplace, fitness hours that could be used for bicycle commuting, the opportunity to bring a bicycle on a local bus and better exchanges and shower facilities in the workplace.

Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) is a four-level system that classifies the stress experienced by cyclists on road segments and at intersections. While LTS has been used in past studies to assess cycling connectivity, accessibility, and safety, very little is known concerning its influence on cycling preferences. This study investigates this topic using a dataset containing 323,163 unique GPS trajectories of Hamilton Bike Share (HBS) users collected over a 12-month period (January 1st to December 31st, 2019). A GIS-based map-matching algorithm is used to generate users’ routes from these trajectories along with attributes such as route length, number of intersections, and number of turns. Unique routes and their use frequencies are then extracted from all routes. The most popular routes between bike share hub (station) pairs are then identified as dominant routes while shortest distance routes are derived by minimizing distance traveled. Weighted level of traffic stress (WLTS), a novel measure of impedance (travel cost) developed for this study, is used to derive the least stressful routes between hub pairs. The three types of routes are compared statistically. The comparison finds that HBS users tend to choose longer routes with bicycle infrastructure in an effort to reduce their traffic stress. However, they do not choose to minimize traffic stress in its entirety by choosing the lowest WLTS routes. In other words, dominant routes are not the least stressful routes in a bike share system. Likewise, minimizing distance is not the sole consideration of HBS users. The findings suggest that other factors also influence route choice. This study not only enhances our understanding of cyclist route preferences with respect to LTS, it also presents a novel measure of impedance – WLTS – that could be used when planning new cycling infrastructure or as an alternative means to route cyclists between origins and destinations. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Cycling is undergoing a welcome renaissance, especially in urban contexts. However, there are tensions, in relation to pedestrians, which could negatively affect cycling’s growth. This thesis observes the social interactions and physical reactions of cyclists when co-present with pedestrians at a zebra crossing in central Stockholm. It uses both in-person and video observations with the films being processed using an observiaire, a relatively novel, quantitative method of capturing human behaviours. The results were explored using ideas on the practice of cycling and the street as a social space. It seems that cyclist’s momentum and desire to save energy is clearly important as cyclists will do almost anything except stop for a pedestrian. However, they also seem to have an ability and wish to cooperate. This could be using waves, nods, or shouts, but also invisible and physical communication, what I term peripheral communication. Overall, the cyclists observed were constantly balancing their desire for efficiency against their consideration of pedestrians.

This thesis examines the existence of a dominant route between a hub pair and factors that influence bike share cyclists route choices. This research collects 132,396 hub to-hub global positioning system (GPS) trajectories over a 12-month period between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016 from 750 bicycles provided by a bike share program (BSP) called SoBi (Social Bicycles) Hamilton. Then, a GIS-based map-matching toolkit is used to convert GPS points to map-matched trips and generate a series of route attributes. In order to create choice sets, unique routes between the same hub pair are extracted from all corresponding repeated trips using a link signature tool. The results from t statistics and Path-size logit models indicate that bike share cyclists are willing to detour for some positive features, such as bicycle facilities and low traffic volumes, but they also try to avoid too circuitous routes, turns, and steep slopes over 4% though detouring may come with a slight increase in turns. This research not only helps us understand BSP cyclist route preferences but also presents a GIS-based approach to determine potential road segments for additional bike facilities on the basis of such preferences. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)