Interaction behaviour of active mobility users in shared space

• Main Author: Che, Maohao
• Other Authors: Lum Kit Meng
• Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Engineering::Civil engineering::Transportation
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/151734
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The first Singapore Active Mobility Bill was enacted in 2017, which allowed pedestrians, bicycles and personal mobility devices (PMDs) to share rights-of-way along the generally narrow off-road footpaths which, hitherto, have been the exclusive domain of the pedestrians. The number of crashes has increased since the space sharing scheme started. The authority regulated travelling speed from 15km/h to 10km/h on the footpaths, which did not yield an effective result in improving safety performance. This calls for research into shared footpath user behaviour. Reviewing past literature, a knowledge gap is evident regarding theorisation of interactive user behaviour in shared space. In this research, the following steps are taken to establish a framework for modelling interactive shared space behaviour: 1. A virtual reality (VR) experiment was conducted to assess footpath users’ (pedestrians and electric scooter riders) speed perception and attitudes. 2. With the findings from VR experiment and coupled with reviews on relevant social behaviour theories, critical constructs that influence users’ behavioural intention were identified. Seven hypotheses were proposed. A conceptual space sharing behavioural framework was formed. 3. An online perception survey was conducted on pedestrians and cyclists to evaluate the proposed hypotheses and hence validate the developed space sharing behavioural framework. 4. The developed space sharing framework models people’s behavioural intention. To examine how behavioural intention is translated to action (actual behaviour), a before-and-after field experiment regarding “keep left” on the footpaths was conducted.