Cyclist.ie is partnering with Dr. Declan Jordan, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Cork University Business School, part of University College Cork, in a research project funded by the Irish Research Council New Foundations Programme. 

The project is designed to estimate parents’ willingness to pay for safe cycling infrastructure to encourage cycling to school by children and adolescents in an Irish urban setting. The climate emergency, COVID related needs for alternative commuting modes, urban congestion, and concerns over rates of childhood obesity have increased attention on the need for greater levels of active commuting. There is evidence that higher levels of cycling commuting among young people is associated with persistence in sustainable commuting modes into adulthood. This project will contribute to the need for an evidence base for policy making on developing liveable and sustainable Irish cities.

The project will include an original survey questionnaire to be completed by parents of children in selected classes in primary and secondary schools in Cork city. Parents will be asked to indicate their willingness to pay for various models of cycling infrastructure. They will also be asked about their attitudes towards cycling and other forms of active commuting.

The project is the first to use a ‘willingness to pay’ approach to valuing cycling infrastructure in Irish cities and the first to focus on commuting to school by bike. It will provide further evidence on the economic value of investment in safe cycle lanes.

The project will run until the end of 2021 and the findings of the research will be shared with stakeholders and cycling activists.

Dr. Declan Jordan (pictured below) is the principal researcher on the project and will work closely with Cyclist.ie. He is a Senior Lecturer in Economics and a founding Co-Director of the Spatial and Regional Economics Research Centre in Cork University Business School. He is also a cyclist.

Cyclist.ie is looking forward to engaging on the project and helping to make what we hope will be an important contribution to the economics of active travel.