Potential Austrian user groups for new cargo bike services

Despite being a niche market, cargo bikes have significant potential to revolutionize urban mobility. Nevertheless, their adoption for personal use remains limited, with usage patterns concentrated among highly educated urban men aged 30–45 in German-speaking countries. This study aimed to explore potential user groups for cargo bikes and respective mobility services by applying an explorative segmentation approach. The research focused on understanding potential cargo bike users’ socio-demographic, socio-economic, and socio-spatial characteristics, along with their current mobility behaviors and attitudes. Therefore, an original survey of 1,511 participants was conducted across Austria, capturing various variables: travel behavior, mobility preferences, attitudes, and perceived barriers to cargo bike usage. The methodological approach involved CHAID and TwoStep cluster analysis. It resulted in the identification of six clusters with moderate quality, of which three can be interpreted as potential cargo bike user groups: (1) cargo bike-affine urban dwellers, (2) bike-affine best agers, and (3) younger multimodal urban dwellers with neutral-to-positive attitudes, offering potential to prevent car dependency. These groups show favourable conditions based on current mobility behavior and attitudes for cargo bike uptake, each group in different stages of the Stage Model of Self-Regulated Behavioural Change [Bamberg, Journal of Environmental Psychology 34, 2013]. Following behavioral change theories, encouraging cargo bike use will require a multi-level strategy addressing the specific needs of each stage, combining general awareness campaigns with targeted interventions. This study enhances the understanding of user segmentation and supports effective promotion of sustainable mobility]. Following behavioral change theories, encouraging cargo bike use will require a multi-level strategy addressing the specific needs of each stage, combining general awareness campaigns with targeted interventions. This study enhances the understanding of user segmentation and supports effective promotion of sustainable mobility.