USING GETIS-ORD GI* MAPS TO UNDERSTAND BICYCLE MOBILITY DURING THE WINTER SEASON IN VALENCIA, SPAIN

Abstract

In recent years, policy makers have paid more attention to cycling when considering sustainable mobility plans. Understanding the spatio-temporal patterns of cycling mobility can serve as a reference for planning cycling infrastructures. This study explores the application of the Getis-ord Gi* statistic, spreading the values of counter stations by spatial interpolation methods to analyse the geographical effects of the winter season for cycling mobility in Valencia (Spain). From 447,845 measures collected by 59 loop detectors, the variability in the number of bicycles on working days and on weekends in terms of consecutive, dismissing, intensifying, persistent, oscillating, sporadic, or new hot/cold spots was analysed with a time variation of 30 minutes. In contrast to what would be expected, the winter season does not have a significant influence on the use of bicycles around university campuses on weekdays or in recreational areas on weekends, defining these as hot spots. Instead, the Valencia surroundings present persistent and intensifying cold spots, being limited by subway stations during winter when changes occur in the means of transport. Persistent hot spots show accepted mobility patterns among the population of Valencia that could be promoted by the local government, e.g., by improving the availability of bicycles among students and designing attractive weekend rides for all citizens as a healthy activity. Keywords: Getis-Ord Gi*, Spatio-temporal analysis, spline interpolation with barriers, cycling activity