Why Cycling in 2007 Was Faster than Being Driven in 2017 in Tianjin

Abstract

Changes in the road environment of Tianjin were intended to speed up the traffic system and shift bicyclists to the metro, bus and car. The metro system was greatly expanded, along with a modernized bus fleet. App-based taxi services were also introduced. In 2007, travellers to the central area were intercepted to determine the starting point of their trip and their travel mode. The most time-efficient trips in 2007 were by bicycle (61%). These trips were re-enacted in 2017 using taxi and metro as it was no longer physically possible to replicate most of the original bicycle trips. Trips greater than 5 km in distance were somewhat faster by taxi than they were by bicycle, but overall, travel time by taxi was greater than by the bicycle for those same trips in 2007. A network analysis of road changes provides explanation why longer trips became more efficient while short trips became less efficient. Travel by metro alone was much longer than the other two methods, but the combination of app-based bicycles and metro would render this travel method the most efficient.