T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f U t a h G r a d u a t e S c h o o l STATEMENT OF THESIS APPROVAL The thesis of Liwei Fu has been approved by the following supervisory committee members: ABSTRACT Improving our understanding of cycling behaviors in urban areas is an important step in producing a more sustainable transportation system. Based on a stated preference survey in Salt Lake City, Utah, this paper studies the influence of attitudes on bicycling behavior. A travel preference factor analysis

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... ndicates four attitudinal factors concerning bicycling: safety, direct benefits, comfort, and timesaving. The decision to cycle is positively correlated with the timesaving and convenience factors, whereas preferences on travel comfort level negatively affected bicycling frequencies. Besides attitude factors, bicycling level is the highest among groups with higher education, single and living without a family, do not have access to a car, and who have a positive attitude on bicycling. We also apply a route optimization method to further analyze bicyclists' route choice behavior and preferences toward transportation link level characteristics (e.g., bike lane, slope, traffic speed). The results indicated an influential effect of separated bike lanes. These findings indicate that attitudes, bike lanes, and other demographic factors have a strong impact on bicycling behaviors.