Pedaling Towards Acceptance

Abstract

The presentation titled "Pedaling Towards Acceptance: Navigating Cleavages and Policy-Divides in the E-Bike City Transition – Public Opinion Insights from a Large-Scale Survey" explores public opinion on the implementation of E-Bike City policies. It highlights key societal divides, including those based on lifestyle choices (cyclists vs. drivers) and political ideology (left vs. right). The findings emphasize that while perceptions of effectiveness for such policies are high, this does not necessarily translate into public acceptance. Key drivers of acceptance or resistance include fairness and perceived intrusiveness of the policies. The study uses survey experiments with over 6,000 respondents to evaluate how different policy characteristics influence public perceptions and acceptance. The presentation discusses the potential for bridging societal divides through specific street redesign implementations, with a focus on the acceptance gap between stated support for cycling infrastructure and actual implementation resistance.