Students' Perceptions of Difficulties in Cycling to School in Urban and Suburban Taiwan

Abstract

Previous research has identified the importance of cycling training programs and examined the relationship between cycling attitudes and the behavior of cyclists; another important factor that needs further research is obstacles to cycling in cities. This study investigates cycling difficulties confronted by Taiwanese students in the Hsin-Chu technopolis while riding their bikes to and from school. For an empirical perspective, a questionnaire was designed to collect data related to perceptions of cycling difficulties and to provide a descriptive analysis of students and their parents. Data were collected from samples in urban and suburban environments. The Rasch model was applied to analyze the cycling abilities of the students as well as their perceptions of cycling difficulty. Findings indicate that boys have better cycling abilities than girls, urban students have better abilities than suburban students, ability parallels age (older students have better cycling ability), and parents' attitudes toward cycling to school parallel their children's abilities (parents of students with better cycling ability are less concerned). Various impediments to cycling are identified and, based on students' perceptions, levels of difficulty are assigned. Implications of the results are discussed, and recommendations are offered, so as to facilitate matching bicycle use with Taiwan's status as a worldwide leader in bicycle manufacturing.