Towards an electric bike level of service

摘要: The fast-growing market of electric bikes (e-bikes) has introduced a paradigm shift in mobility with a promise to enhance the sustainability agenda. An in-depth understanding of transport quality of service (QOS) from the e-bike rider’s perspective is a promising approach to sustain the role of the e-bike in mobility. Level of service (LOS) is a method by which to quantify QOS for different transport modes. However, to date, the knowledge on e-bike LOS (ELOS) lags far behind that on other transport modes. Therefore, the central aim of this thesis is to provide fundamental knowledge related to the development of ELOS. To address the main aim of the thesis, the travel behaviour and riding characteristics associated with e-bikes were scrutinised. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to provide knowledge on the travel behaviour (strategical level) and riding characteristics (tactical level) related to e-bikes. From a strategic perspective, an extensive review of the literature was conducted to explore which transport mode LOS is applicable for developing ELOS. Based on the findings from the state of the art and the reviewed literature, bike LOS (BLOS) was deemed substantial for the development of ELOS. Thus, to move towards the development of ELOS, a set of studies was conducted to understand the comfort concerns of e-bike riders via the literature review, interviews and a field experiment. Based on the reviewed literature, it appears evident that research related to the travel behaviour of e-bike users is sparse and that the scale of e-bike substitution for other modes of transport is unclear. The findings of the aforementioned study led …