United States Department of Transportation
i
Measuring Temporal and Spatial Exposure of Urban Cyclists to Air Pollutants Using an Instrumented Bike
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2019-09-01
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[PDF-7.11 MB]
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Edition:Final, January 2018–June 2019
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Abstract:Increased use of active transportation can make direct and indirect contributions toward addressing societal transportation issues. However, in the process of cycling for transportation, cyclists are exposed to multiple pollutants that could adversely impact their health. The goal of this study was to better understand the variation in PM2.5 exposure of cyclists depending on the cycling infrastructure along the selected route and the time that they bike. Four routes that represent the wide range of bicycle infrastructure were ridden using an instrumented bike equipped with low-cost PMS5003™ sensors. The resulting PM2.5 exposure maps show that few segments recorded air quality worse than the background concentration. During most of the routes, riders experienced air quality that was better than the air quality documented at the monitoring location. All hot spots with higher PM2.5 exposure were along higher-traffic roadway segments except one. Areas with consistently lower levels of PM2.5 compared to background concentration were all along a multiuse trail. However, cyclist exposure to PM2.5 is impacted more by environmental variables that cause the background concentration to be higher along the entire route than the proximity to vehicles at specific points along any route.
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