What drives university students to cycle? An investigation of their motivations

The objective of this study is to identify the factors that influence the increase in the number of students cycling to university. An online questionnaire was administered to 2,130 students at the University of Trieste (Italy) to assess their stated preferences for cycling in the presence of various infrastructure and facilities, including cycle lanes, green infrastructure, secure parking, and e-bike charging stations. The findings indicate that students are responsive to the financial aspects of cycling, suggesting that subsidies for the purchase of bicycles or bike-share services could increase cycling rates. However, the study also highlights that infrastructure factors—such as the availability of dedicated cycle lanes, secure bicycle parking, and e-bike charging points on campus—are equally, if not more, important in determining the likelihood of students cycling to university. Additionally, linear green infrastructure, such as roads with greenery along the edges (e.g. grass verges, trees, or bushes), was found to be the second most important type of infrastructure for encouraging students residing in the urban area to cycle. Latent psychological factors, such as perceptions of urban safety for cycling and anticipated health and fatigue effects, were also significant in influencing the decision to cycle. Our findings will be useful to policy makers, local authorities and university mobility managers in the design, planning and implementation of policies that can effectively increase the uptake of cycling for commuting to university.