DEVELOPING AN EXTERNAL BIKE RACK DESIGN FOR INNER-CITY PUBLIC BUSSES THROUGH AN ACTION RESEARCH PROCESS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY MEHMET ERDİ ÖZGÜRLÜK IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN FEBRUARY 2016 i ii Approval of the thesis: DEVELOPING AN EXTERNAL BIKE RACK DESIGN FOR INNER-CITY PUBLIC BUSSES THROUGH AN ACTION RESEARCH PROCESS submitted by MEHMET ERDİ ÖZGÜRLÜK in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Industrial Design Department, Middle East Technical University by, Prof. Dr. Gülbin Dural Ünver Dean, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences Prof. Dr. Gülay Hasdoğan Head of Department, Industrial Design Prof. Dr. Gülay Hasdoğan Supervisor, Industrial Design Dept., METU Examining Committee Members Assist. Prof. Dr. Fatma Korkut Industrial Design Dept., METU Prof. Dr. Gülay Hasdoğan Industrial Design Dept., METU Assist. Prof. Dr. Naz Ayşe Güzide Zehra Börekçi Industrial Design Dept., METU Assist. Prof. Dr. Aydın Öztoprak Industrial Design Dept., TOBB Uni. of Econ. and Tech. Assist. Prof. Dr. Aykut Coşkun Media and Visual Arts Dept., Koç University Date: 05.02.2016 iii I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: M. Erdi Özgürlük Signature : iv ABSTRACT DEVELOPING AN EXTERNAL BIKE RACK DESIGN FOR INNER-CITY PUBLIC BUSSES THROUGH AN ACTION RESEARCH PROCESS Özgürlük, Mehmet Erdi M.Sc., Department of Industrial Design Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Gülay Hasdoğan February 2016, 190 pages Bicycles have a great potential of mobility and flexibility to be used for transportation besides their recreational and sports activity based purposes. However, they have certain deficiencies through which they need to be supported by other means of transportation in order to enlarge the cycling catchment area. Promoting cycling somehow returns with many benefits such as reducing negative environmental impacts of transportation vehicles with carbon emission, improving health of users together with economic and social benefits. In respect to this, integration of bicycles with public transportation would bring mutual benefits for each mode of transportation. For this reason, an action research study is conducted to develop a transit bike rack system consisting of a two-stage fieldwork held with different stakeholders associated directly with the proposed system. Basing on the findings of the fieldwork, design alternatives for a transit bike rack system are created and analyzed considering the design criteria set throughout the study. Further suggestions are made to improve the system. Keywords: Cycling, bicycle, transit bike racks for buses, cyclist, public transportation. v ÖZ EYLEM ARAŞTIRMASI YÖNTEMİ İLE ŞEHİR İÇİ OTOBÜSLERİN DIŞ KISMINA KONUMLANDIRILACAK BİSİKLET TAŞIMA APARATI TASARIMININ GELİŞTİRİLMESİ Özgürlük, Mehmet Erdi Yüksek Lisans, Endüstri Ürünleri Tasarımı Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Gülay Hasdoğan Şubat 2016, 190 sayfa Bisiklet sportif etkinlikler ve eğlence amaçlı kullanımının yanı sıra ulaşım için de esnek ve mobil karakteriyle büyük önem taşıyan bir ulaşım aracıdır. Öte yandan ulaşım kapsamının artırılması için diğer ulaşım türleri tarafından desteklenmesini gerektiren bazı eksikliklere sahiptir. Bisiklet kullanımını teşvik etmenin karbon emisyonlu ulaşım araçlarının çevreye olumsuz etkisini azaltma, sağlıklı yaşam, ekonomik ve sosyal faydalar gibi birçok değerli getirisi vardır. Bu nedenle bisikletlerin toplu taşıma ile entegre edilmesi her iki ulaşım türü için de karşılıklı yararlar sağlar. Bu doğrultuda, eylem araştırması yöntemi kullanılarak otobüsler için bir bisiklet taşıma aparatı geliştirilmiştir. Eylem araştırması kapsamında sistem ile doğrudan ilişkili olan tarafların dahil edildiği iki aşamalı bir alan çalışması yürütülmüştür. Alan çalışmalarının bulguları ve çalışma sırasında belirlenen tasarım ölçütleri dikkate alınarak bisiklet taşıma sistemi alternatifleri oluşturulmuş. Bu alternatifler analiz edilerek bir bisiklet taşıma aparatı önerisi ileride geliştirilmek üzere sunulmuştur. Anahtar Kelimeler: Bisiklet kullanmak, bisiklet, otobüs bisiklet askı sistemi, bisikletli, toplu taşıma. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor Gülay Hasdoğan, for being more than just a mentor, a friend who influenced me with her experiences and supported me all the time throughout the process. Her inspiring advises and care always kept me motivated during the process of this thesis. Secondly, I would like to thank the members of the thesis committee; Assist. Prof. Dr. Fatma Korkut, Assist. Prof. Dr. Naz A.G.Z. Börekçi, Assist. Prof. Dr. Aydın Öztoprak and Assist. Prof. Dr. Aykut Coşkun for their comments and feedbacks. A special thanks to my colleagues Anıl Ercan and Alper Karadoğaner for their contribution in design process. I would also like to express my gratitude for the fellow researchers Mert Kulaksız, Anıl Ilgaz, and especially İsmail Yavuz Paksoy as he became my seatmate while also having his thesis process. I would also like to thank all the participants involved in the questionnaires, interviews and focus groups for allocating their valuable time for participating to the study. Before the last, I would deeply thank to my academic peer Sezgi Kaya for her great contributions in every step of this process. She always supported me and was ready for help anytime I needed. Finally, I would like to express my most profound thanks to my family; my dear mother Nurten Özgürlük, my dear father Şahin Özgürlük, my dear sister Ezgi Özgürlük and my friends from hometown, Elmadağ, as being nameless heroes for me not only during the process but also during my whole life. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ v ÖZ ............................................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ viii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. xv LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. xxi CHAPTERS ................................................................................................................ 1 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Background and Motivation for the Study ................................................... 1 1.2. Methodology: Action Research ...................................................................... 2 1.3. Aims of the Study and Research Questions................................................... 4 1.4. The Structure of the Thesis............................................................................. 7 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 9 2.1. Cycling Phase ................................................................................................... 9 2.1.1. Value of Cycling ....................................................................................... 10 2.1.2. Cycling Catchment Area ........................................................................... 12 2.1.3. Share of Cycling Transit Users ................................................................. 14 2.1.4. Promoting Cycling .................................................................................... 15 viii 2.1.5. Position of Turkey in Cycling ................................................................... 18 2.2. Transition Phase ............................................................................................ 19 2.2.1. Bike-to-Transit Journey ............................................................................ 19 2.2.2. Key Issues about Bike and Transit ........................................................... 20 2.2.3. Types of Bike Carriers .............................................................................. 21 2.2.3.1. Roof-mounted Bike Carriers .............................................................. 21 2.2.3.2. Tailgate and Boot Bike Carriers ......................................................... 22 2.2.3.3. Trailer Hitch Bike Carriers................................................................. 23 2.2.4. External Bike Racks for Buses ................................................................. 24 2.2.5. History of Bike and Transit ...................................................................... 26 2.2.6. Bikes-on-Bus (BOB) Program .................................................................. 26 2.3. Integration Phase ........................................................................................... 28 2.3.1. Bike and Transit Integration ..................................................................... 28 2.3.2. Ways of Integration .................................................................................