Designing for the Interested but Concerned: A qualitative study of the needs of potential bike riders

Background: Networks of safe, connected and accessible infrastructure to support bike riding for people of all ages and abilities are imperative to creating healthy, active and sustainable communities. However, there is currently very limited evidence available for the needs of people who are interested in riding a bike, but are not regularly riding. Further, the majority of published literature is quantitative, meaning we have little understanding of why particular infrastructure types are uncomfortable to ride a bike in. Qualitative methods are helpful to identify specific concerns, preferences and solutions to the barriers people experience to riding a bike. We aimed to explore perceptions and experiences of bike infrastructure, how these acted as a barrier to participation, and potential design solutions to overcome these. Methods: We purposively sampled people living in Greater Melbourne, Australia by age, gender and region of residence to participate in a semi-structured phone interview. Participants were asked a series of questions informed by a behaviour change framework to enable a thorough understanding of the barriers to riding a bike, and potential solutions. Interviews were audio recorded and a framework analysis conducted. Results: A total of 40 people were interviewed (20 women, and 20 men) living across various regions of Greater Melbourne. Four key themes were identified, including preferences for protected bike infrastructure over painted infrastructure, issues with availability and accessibility of bike parking, concerns about intersections where bikes and motorised traffic mixed and discomfort with substantial speed differentials between bikes and motor vehicle traffic. Conclusions: Potential bike riders experience considerable barriers to bike riding from infrastructure that was not designed for their needs. Guidelines for the design and construction of bike infrastructure, and level of traffic stress frameworks used alongside these, need to incorporate the diversity of bike riding needs for people of all ages and abilities.