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Pump or pedal? The impact of fuel prices on cycling in Germany

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  • Findenegg, Jakob
  • Wessel, Jan

Abstract

We analyze the relationship between fuel prices and cycling in Germany. The estimated cross-elasticity is positive and significant for utilitarian traffic, and increased in 2022 when prices became more salient. To derive our results, we exploit fuel-price variations caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, among other factors. Cross-elasticities are then estimated by running both OLS and IV regression models on hourly bicycle counts from 72 automated counting stations. While cross-elasticities have been estimated for low-cycling countries such as the U.S. or Australia, our results provide valuable insights for transport planning and sustainable policy making in higher-cycling countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Findenegg, Jakob & Wessel, Jan, 2024. "Pump or pedal? The impact of fuel prices on cycling in Germany," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:186:y:2024:i:c:s0965856424001940
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2024.104146
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fuel prices; Bicycle ridership; Cross-elasticity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy

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