Influence of Electric Bicycle on Mode Transition in Urban Transit

There is a growing interest in the e-bike’s role in worldwide urban transport systems. The primary objective of this study is to identify the factors that influence the future alternative to the e-bike and the mode transition in urban China given current e-bike user behaviors. Data were collected at 10 different locations in China’s Nanjing. Mixed multinomial logit models were developed to quantitatively evaluate the impacts of different contributing factors on the preference of future mode choice of e-bike riders and the mode transition in urban transport. The results show that the e-bike is an affordable, higher quality mobility option to public transport rather than transitioning from a low to high level of motorization. The e-bike would replace part of transit public and car-based trips. The low-carbon attitude of e-bike users would prefer the non-motorized modes and public transit.