Cycling in Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Route Choice Behavior and Implications for Infrastructure Planning

Abstract

This research investigated the route choice behavior of cyclists in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with data collected from a smartphone application deployed to many cyclists in the city. For the study, 4,556 cyclists registered and logged more than 30,000 commuting trips over 9 months. In addition to the time-stamped, second-by-second GPS readings on each trip, information on age, gender, and rider history was collected on a voluntary basis. Multinomial logit route choice models were estimated for the commuting cycling trips. The results revealed the critical importance of cycling facilities (e.g., bike lanes, cycling paths and trails) on cyclists’ route choice decisions, and provided valuable information for use in Toronto’s ongoing bicycle network planning.