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Context: Cycling is a climate-friendly means of transport that enables people to reduce their use of motorized transport and makes human settlements more inclusive and resilient. In Italy, the development of cycling has recently been boosted by the approval of Law no. 2/2018, which makes it compulsory for all Italian regions to draw up a regional cycling mobility plan. Objective: To meet this regulatory provision, the Region of Sardinia approved the Regional Plan for Cycling Mobility in December 2018. Drawn up by the Sardinian Regional Transport Agency and the transportation research group of the University of Cagliari, the plan aims to lay out a regional cycle network to promote the use of the bicycle as a means of transport for both every day and tourist–recreational needs. One of the main objectives of the plan is to make the inland areas of the island more accessible, as the development of such areas tends to have been neglected compared to the coastal areas linked to seaside tourism. Hence, the plan intends to contribute to the increase of tourist flows into rural areas, which can be a strategic segment of local development. Results: By analysing the methodology adopted to lay out Sardinia's regional cycle network, the aim of the current paper is to show how the planning of an integrated cycle network in an island context can improve sustainable mobility and accessibility in the rural areas through which it passes. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that many rural settlements along the routes of the planned cycle network are sufficiently near each other for people to travel between them by bicycle. Conclusions: Therefore, the cycling infrastructure could prompt a sustainable increase in the accessibility and connectivity of inland areas and stimulate the formation of clusters of small, interconnected towns and villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aims to investigate the impact of socioeconomic and bike infrastructure-related factors on the choice to cycle for different purposes (commuting, errands and leisure/sport) and explores the interplay between these three choices. We developed and estimated a multivariate ordered probit model that accounts for correlation effects among dependent variables, i.e. the three different frequencies of cycling for different purposes, and simultaneously controls for the impact of endogenous and exogenous variables. The data used in this study are drawn from a survey conducted by the University of Cagliari in two mid-size urban areas in Sardinia (Italy). We analysed a sample of 1,105 individuals with prerequisites useful for the study at hand. Model results show that different socio-demographic variables such as gender, age, level of education, household composition and vehicle ownership influence our dependent variables. The results are consistent with previous research, with males and younger individuals more likely to cycle, while people with children show a lower propensity to use the bike for both transportation and recreational purposes. Further, we show that, in the specific context of the analysis, unobserved effects between the three dependent variables exist and a higher frequency of cycling for leisure leads to a higher frequency of cycling for utilitarian purposes, suggesting the presence of a behavioral spillover effect. Finally, a policy simulation analysis is carried out to estimate the impact of the endogenous variable cycling for leisure on the probability of choosing to cycle for utilitarian purposes. In particular, we find that the adoption of an independent model that ignores the presence of unobserved effects among dependent variables leads to a small overprediction of the number of people cycling for utilitarian purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prompted by previous research indicating associations between social norms and travel behavior, this study examines the effectiveness of a persuasive normative intervention on car commuters in Cagliari, Italy. The intervention provided (descriptive and/or injunctive) normative statements to encourage a shift from the car to a sustainable travel alternative, namely walking, cycling, or transit, suggested through a Personalized Travel Plan. The construction of an Integrated Choice and Latent Variable model allowed for controlling for level of service, socioeconomic, and psychological variables. Results showed how the injunctive normative message significantly increased public transport intention, particularly when individuals perceived a higher level of behavioral control. However, no significant impact was found for active mobility. Pseudo-elasticity effects showed how the injunctive message had a similar impact as the travel time difference between cars and public transport. This work is valuable for policymakers as it provides insightful best practices for low-budget normative messaging to promote sustainable travel behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Few works tested normative messages to nudge people toward sustainable mobility. • Descriptive and injunctive norms with info on a green alternative were employed. • Statistical tests analyzed the effect of norm messages on travel behavior change. • Injunctive messages show positive impact on the intentions to use public transport. • Varying effectiveness is found depending on trip and socioeconomic characteristics. Urban communities' travel behavior is one of the key factors in implementing behavioral interventions to promote sustainable mobility. This study investigates whether receiving a normative message alongside feedback information (on time and cost savings, reduced emissions, and burned calories) can contribute to persuading individuals toward sustainable mobility. For this purpose, we conducted a randomized controlled trial experiment in 2021 in the metropolitan area of Cagliari. We intercepted a sample of students and workers who usually commute by car and proposed them a personalized sustainable alternative (walking, cycling, or public transport). Then, we contacted participants again asking about their intention to use the proposed alternative, after presenting them with one of five randomly assigned normative messages: descriptive, injunctive, descriptive+injunctive, injunctive+descriptive, and no message (control group). For our analysis, 577 responses to the last survey were considered. Results show that a large share of the sample (36.9%) intended to change travel behavior. Furthermore, we found that the injunctive normative message is significantly more effective for public transport. Instead, no significant differences were detected when an active mobility alternative was proposed. Finally, our analysis revealed different normative measures' effectiveness depending on the trip characteristics of the suggested alternative and the individuals' socio-demographic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]