Browsing by Author "Mackie H"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Challenging the inequities of ebike access: An investigation of a community-led intervention in a lower-income neighbourhood in Aotearoa - New Zealand
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024-09) Witten K; Opit S; Mackie H; Raja A
    Introduction Ebiking offers positive physical and mental health benefits for riders. However, inequitable access to bike share schemes and purchase cost barriers limit ebike availability and uptake in lower-income communities. Furthermore, as bike culture differs from place to place, incentive schemes responsive to the local culture are needed to improve access to ebikes as a healthy mobility choice. Methods Three trials of ebike access were co-designed sequentially between 2021 and 2023. Give-it-a go, Ebikes in daily life, Pathway to Permanence were all designed by a community bike organisation working in tandem with a research team. Trial delivery was community-led. Trial participants’ experiences of ebike use were gathered through group and individual interviews, and the research also included a brief before and after survey of trip destination and mode use. Results Trial participants valued their ebiking experience, including the skills training and group rides, new knowledge of safe routes, health benefits of exercise, and fuel savings. During the trial, a third of weekly trips were made by ebike, while trips made by motor vehicle reduced by 25%. Cost emerged as a substantial barrier to ebike ownership. Conclusions Effective models to support ebike uptake in lower-income communities will be characterised by: adequate funding of community organisations to grow local bike culture; safe and secure bike infrastructure; community ownership of an ebike fleet to support skill acquisition and social connection; and a pathway to low-cost ebike access.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Te Ara Mua – Future Streets: Can a streetscape upgrade designed to increase active travel change residents’ perceptions of neighbourhood safety?
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2022) Witten K; Macmillan A; Mackie H; van der Werf B; Smith M; Field A; Woodward A; Hosking J
    We aim to understand how a streetscape intervention, Te Ara Mua- Future Streets, designed to improve the ease and safety of active modes, influenced perceptions of neighbourhood safety and security in Māngere, New Zealand. In this controlled intervention study, survey, focus group and in-depth interview data on neighbourhood perceptions were gathered from adults and children in 2014 and 2017, before and after the intervention. General Linear Mixed Modelling (GLMM) was used to undertake a difference in differences analysis of the individual level survey data on traffic and neighbourhood safety perceptions. Focus group and interview data were analysed thematically. Survey data indicate improvements in neighbourhood safety but not traffic safety perceptions after the streetscape upgrade. Conversely, focus group and interview data suggest enduring fears around people and dogs, but an easing of traffic-related fears attributed to safer crossings and slower vehicle speeds. Our contrasting quantitative and qualitative findings demonstrate a complex interplay of neighbourhood people and place attributes in shaping residents’ experiences of safety and security, and therefore the importance of combining personal safety and traffic safety, as well as multiple measures, when investigating pathways between built environment change and active travel.