Drivers and Barriers to the Adoption of Cargo Cycles: An Exploratory Factor Analysis

Abstract

A variety of drivers and barriers to the adoption of cargo cycles has been described in contemporary academic literature. This paper aims at reducing this complexity by identifying their underlying factor structure. To this aim, 389 organizations interested in cargo cycles rated their agreement towards the adoption of cargo cycles with 23 literature-derived drivers and barriers. An exploratory factor analysis yielded three driver factors (soft factors, cost benefits and urban advantages) and four barrier factors (vehicle limitations, worries and perils, riders’ concerns and infrastructure constraints) which are interpreted and discussed.