Practices and motivations of travellers making rail–cycle trips

Currently only 2% of British rail passengers choose to cycle to the station, in contrast to 40% in the Netherlands, but the combination of cycling with rail use presents a potentially attractive alternative to car use with carbon reduction and health-promotion benefits. The present study examined the motivations and behaviours of people who integrate bicycle and rail use, focusing particularly on the provision of station cycle parking as a facilitator. A novel methodology was applied to two intercity stations in Bristol (southwest England) to examine movements within an extensive cycle parking area. Bike–rail integration emerges as a complex set of practices, influenced by a range of factors including, but not limited to, the availability of station cycle parking. It is concluded that bike–rail integration can make a contribution to reducing both carbon emissions and car dependence, but a lack of integration within the rail industry and other agencies is limiting the delivery of policies to enhance the opportunities.