Introduction

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic affects different domains of society, including the transport system. Due to the impacts of social distancing, research concerning electric bike (e-bike) applications and non(user) health and comfort concerns is needed. This research aims to understand the health and comfort concerns of e-bike (non)users in both pre (PR) and peri (PE) pandemic situations and explore how the PE situation triggers (non)users to use e-bikes.

Methods

An interpretive description qualitative method in the form of semi-structured interviews was used to gather the empirical material for this research.

Results

Twenty-three (non)user participants were interviewed in the PR situation, and 12 of these participants were interviewed again in the PE situation. The comfort provided by the e-bike did not outweigh its cost as a factor for nonusers considering investing in the e-bikes in the PR situation. However, nonusers acknowledged that e-bikes can serve as substitutes for public transport by eliminating social interactions and consequently potential health concerns, in addition to providing comfortable mobility. E-bike users were in agreement concerning physical activity and the health benefits of using e-bikes in the PR situation. Their opinions differed slightly, as women placed less emphasis on the physical activity provided by e-bike use. However, gender opinions converged regarding health concerns about using public transport in PE situations. Infrastructure facilities and e-bike performance are evident as users’ comfort concerns in the PE situation.

Conclusion

The results highlight the role of the e-bike in PE situations as a reliable transport mode and suggest that there is considerable potential for e-bikes as substitutes for public transport in the post-pandemic situation. The findings are applicable to e-bike level-of-service studies in order to provide an overview of the user's experience of comfort.

中文翻译：

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世界大流行 (COVID-19) 前后电动自行车（非）用户的健康和舒适度问题：一项定性研究

介绍

史无前例的 COVID-19 大流行影响了社会的不同领域，包括交通系统。由于社会距离的影响，需要对电动自行车（电动自行车）应用和非（用户）健康和舒适问题进行研究。本研究旨在了解电动自行车（非）用户在大流行前（PR）和围（PE）大流行情况下的健康和舒适问题，并探讨 PE 情况如何触发（非）用户使用电动自行车。

方法

采用半结构化访谈形式的解释性描述定性方法来收集本研究的经验材料。

结果

23 名（非）用户参与者在 PR 情况下接受采访，其中 12 名参与者在 PE 情况下再次接受采访。对于考虑在 PR 情况下投资电动自行车的非用户来说，电动自行车提供的舒适性并没有超过其成本。然而，非使用者承认，电动自行车除了提供舒适的移动性外，还可以通过消除社交互动和潜在的健康问题来替代公共交通。电动自行车用户就体育活动和在 PR 情况下使用电动自行车的健康益处达成一致。他们的意见略有不同，因为女性不太重视电动自行车提供的身体活动。然而，关于在 PE 情况下使用公共交通工具的健康问题，性别观点趋于一致。

结论

结果突出了电动自行车在 PE 情况下作为一种可靠的交通方式的作用，并表明在大流行后的情况下，电动自行车作为公共交通的替代品具有相当大的潜力。研究结果适用于电动自行车服务水平研究，以概述用户的舒适体验。