Cycling: A benefit for health or just a means of transport? Case study Brno (Czech Republic) and its surroundings Milada Št ˇ astná a,⇑ , Antonín Vaishar a , Jana Zapletalová b , Miloslava Ševelová a a Mendel University in Brno, Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology, Zemeˇdeˇlská 1, 61300 Brno, Czech Republic b Institute of Geonics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Environmental Geography Brno branch, Drobného 301/28, 60200 Brno, Czech Republic article info Article history: Received 22 February 2017 Received in revised form 15 October 2017 Accepted 3 February 2018 Keywords: Cycling Commuting Transport Health Environment Brno abstract Reducing pollution and preventing heavy traffic in cities together with recent transport policies are encouraging people to use more sustainable modes of transport, such as walk- ing, cycling or public transport, in preference to private cars. The study was aimed at ana- lysing general conditions for bicycle utilization, and their application to the outskirts of the largest Moravian town, Brno, and discussing the possible future of bicycling in this region, including its relation to health. What motivating factors could influence people’s decision to use bicycles as a means of transport? A survey was conducted at the third-largest uni- versity in Brno, where the respondents were approached. According to the obtained results, more than half of the respondents used bicycles mostly for leisure purposes. Nevertheless, almost one-third mentioned bicycling for transport purposes. Thus, there is a potential for cycling to become a significant part of transport and thus contribute to human health and a healthy city environment; however, the region should considerably adjust its infrastruc- ture to encourage cyclists to visit Brno and its surroundings. Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Cycling has been a very popular activity in recent years. It can serve as both a form of transport, including commuting for work and a part of tourism and a field of sport, including organized professional events. Of course, there are existing com- binations of both options for bicycle utilization, which are not excluded. Several research papers analysing different factors related to cycling (Broach, Dill, & Gliebe, 2012; Pucher, Dill, & Handy, 2010; Wang, Akar, & Guldmann, 2015) are examples of increasing interest in this type of transportation. Cycling is one of the most environmentally friendly means of transport. Nevertheless, taking into account tourism and sport, it can also be an expensive one. The prices of highly sophisticated bicycles are sometimes comparable with the prices of cars, to say nothing of top infrastructure, which must be built and organized for professional bicycle races, such as the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta España. Such events serve as motivators for thousands of cycling enthusiasts. Cycling usually has advantages compared to car transport on the one hand and walking on the other. Cycling demands less space than car transport, is more environmentally friendly, and requires less investment (excluding in professional sport). The operational costs are negligible. Bicycles do not require any fuel, and although some cyclists drink expensive https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2018.02.006 1369-8478/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: stastna@mendelu.cz (M. Št ˇastná), antonin.vaishar@mendelu.cz (A. Vaishar), zapletalova@geonika.cz (J. Zapletalová), xnaplavo@men- delu.cz (M. Ševelová). Transportation Research Part F 55 (2018) 219–233 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Transportation Research Part F journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/trf