Bicycle Use as an Urban Transport Mode in Cartagena Based on Data from Mobile Technological Applications

Abstract

Currently over half the world population lives in urban centers. This is particularly true in Latin America and the Caribbean, where more than 80% of the population is urban (ONU-Habitat, 2012). In this context, sustainable-development and urban-planning policies acquire special relevance. In this scenario, promoting the use of bicycles is a vital component of more efficient, safe, clean and equitable urban mobility. We show the experience in the use of a data-gathering mobile app to collect information on the use of bicycles in Cartagena, Colombia, as an input for the design of bike-inclusive policies. The use of the mobile app allowed us to quickly gather a rich dataset at low cost. Moreover, we gathered detailed data that is hardly possible to obtain with traditional methods. We collected and analyzed data on timetables, peak days, intensity-of-use of routes, and user perceptions. We hope that this information can help in the design of a bike infrastructure that meets user requirements and that is safe, direct, comfortable, coherent and attractive.