Improving urban bicycle network planning: evidence from a survey and TOPSIS analysis in Tashkent

Abstract

Cycling is increasingly acknowledged as a strategic instrument for sustainable urban mobility, with
substantial evidence demonstrating its capacity to alleviate traffic congestion, curb greenhouse gas
emissions, and reduce healthcare burdens when adopted as a functional transport mode rather than a
recreational add-on. Despite such global validation, bicycle transport remains marginal in post-Soviet
cities like Tashkent, where infrastructural and governance deficiencies — rather than cultural resistance
— continue to constrain adoption. This study combines two complementary strands of evidence: (i) a
simulated behavioural survey of 2,000 respondents assessing perceived barriers and willingness to shift,
and (ii) a TOPSIS-based multi-criteria appraisal of alternative network configurations. Survey results
identify perceived crash risk (58%), network fragmentation (22%) and insufficient end-of-trip facilities
(13%) as the principal deterrents, while 64% of current or potential users report readiness to increase
cycling if protected infrastructure is provided. Consistent with this behavioural signal, the TOPSIS
ranking (A3 > A2 > A1) indicates that a fully protected and continuous network most closely
approximates the ideal policy solution. Collectively, the findings demonstrate that cycling suppression
in developing-city contexts is structurally mediated and therefore reversible through targeted network
design and policy action, offering both empirical and decision-analytic justification for cycling upgrades
in Tashkent-type environments.