Changes in the role of built environment factors on bike-sharing usage among older adults before and after the COVID-19 pandemic: Policy implications in Seoul, South Korea

Introduction: Older adults could experience numerous health benefits from cycling, including improvements in physical and mental health, as well as enhancements to their social networks. Recently, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, cycling among older adults has significantly increased in many cities. It is needed to further examine how the built environment is associated with the cycling behaviour of older adults and how the relationships changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We collected bike sharing “Ddareungi” data in 2019 (before-) and 2022 (during-COVID-19 pandemic) in Seoul, South Korea, with age information, and aggregated and standardized at the Dong level (N = 424). Cycling behaviours of older adults were examined by associating them with built environment factors, using spatial generalised linear mixed models. The analysis controlled for the confounding effects by location. Results: Ddareungi data yielded a total travelled distance of 34,193 m/ha in 2019 and 73,840 m/ha in 2022. Both young and older adults residing in neighbourhoods with intense cycle infrastructure cycled more than their counterparts, consistently at both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic periods. The association between bike-sharing and public transportation usage became insignificant, while the connection with land use mix became highly significant during the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults. Parks play a significant role in the cycling behaviour of older adults in Seoul. Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, changes were found in the association between older adults' bike-sharing usage and certain built environments. Land use mix and park density became significantly associated, whereas bus ridership's association became insignificant. Cycle infrastructure maintained consistent associations with cycling behaviour for both young and older groups, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.