Transportation
The modes of transportation we choose can have significant effects on our levels of physical activity as some options, such as bicycling or walking, require much more activity than more passive options, such as driving or being driven. Beyond influencing physical activity, transportation products and services can link people to food, to friends, family and social gatherings and to nature and outdoor activities. In the transportation industry we focused on four product categories: 1) automobiles offered by the leading automobile manufacturers; 2) bicycles from the top bicycle manufacturers; 3) mapping and directions services; and 4) mobility services, including rideshare and shared bike and scooter offerings.
Overall Ratings
Highlights
Bicycles, unsurprisingly, scored very well, capturing five of the top eight spots in the Index. Not only do they offer great physical activity, they’re ridden outdoors and facilitate social interaction. Automobiles fared the worst of the categories but had positive scores for social connection and spending time outdoors. Mapping and directions services and mobility services generally scored well, with the highest scorers emphasizing bikes, scooters and public transportation.
Automobiles
Highlights and Opportunities
We analyzed the influences of vehicles – cars, trucks, SUVs, and minivans – of the five largest manufacturers in the US market. Most ranked near the bottom of the transportation category, largely for their influences on eating and physical activity. Our consumer research found that more frequent use of automobiles is associated with unhealthy eating behaviors such as greater consumption of fast food and automobile ownership in general was associated with a greater likelihood of using vehicles (versus walking or bicycling) for relatively short trips. The legacy of the automobile in the US, given its influence on suburban sprawl, destruction of historic neighborhoods, pollution, fast food and other consequences, has been quite negative for health, but the way we measure products in the Index doesn’t focus on the legacy so much as the influence on consumers in the world as it is today. To the degree that many communities are car-dependent, having a vehicle can provide access to fresh food, to outdoor recreational opportunities and to social activities with friends and thus the scores came out higher than one might have imagined. Ford scored highest, due in part to the high percentages of its owners reporting more time spent outdoors and its emphasis on trucks, which are also associated with more outdoor time.
Key opportunities for the automobile manufacturers include using their navigation systems to promote access to healthier food options and social opportunities and using the transition to autonomous vehicles (AVs) to develop an approach to mobility that transcends the current focus on personal ownership of automobiles. Shared AVs, combined with access to more active modes such as shared bikes and scooters, offer the opportunity to provide mobility as a service and facilitate more physical activity within transportation.
Methodology
To review the influences of each manufacturer's lines of automobiles, we relied heavily on our 2023 consumer survey that examined automobile ownership, use patterns and their connections to the different health behaviors.(1) While the data were available for each manufacturer, the differences among them, for most metrics, were insignificant and we focused more on how higher volume use of automobiles (time spent in vehicle, length of commute) affected different behaviors such as fast food consumption and use of vehicles (as opposed to more active nodes) for short trips.
As preliminary research has suggested that use of autonomous vehicles (AVs) could lead to greater use of automobiles, we reviewed each manufacturer’s efforts to develop AVs.
Product Profiles
Bicycles
Highlights and Opportunities
Our research into the experiences and health habits of bicycle owners revealed a major opportunity. Unsurprisingly, riding bicycles is really good for our health: it demands a good amount of physical activity; it takes place outdoors; and it creates opportunities for casual social interactions. (Its impact on physical activity and time outdoors can also lead to better sleep.) Bike manufacturers were thus among the very highest scoring companies in the 2024 Index. The issue with bikes are the degree to – and the purposes for which – they are used. We found that nearly half of bicycle owners ride their bike once a month or less. In addition, we found that bicycles are used primarily for exercise or for fun and pleasure – in other words, they're not integrated into the flow of our daily lives. Interestingly, e-bikes and cargo bikes are changing these dynamics – their owners were twice as likely to ride weekly (or more frequently) than owners of traditional bikes and twice as likely to report that shopping and errands were a common purpose of their rides.
The increasing popularity of e-bikes – one of the few examples where we saw technology being used to increase access to or consumption of a healthy behavior – represents a serious opportunity to build healthy behaviors into everyday life and also highlights the importance of aligning public policy with business innovation. There is a dire need for policy focus on bicycle safety and infrastructure that could facilitate both more bicycling overall and more integration of cycling into everyday transportation, as opposed to an add-on activity.
Methodology
As with automobiles, we used our 2023 consumer survey to gather information about bicycle ownership, use patterns and health behaviors. As it became clear that many Americans ride their bicycles infrequently, we zeroed in on differences in different health behaviors between frequent and less frequent riders.
The revelation, from the survey, that e-bike and cargo bike owners use their bikes more often than owners of traditional bicycles led us to examine the product mix for each manufacturer we reviewed.
Product Profiles
Mapping and Directions Services
Highlights and Opportunities
Mapping and directions services facilitate transportation by different modes. As such, they can reinforce unhealthy habits around automobile use or promote use of walking, biking, public transit and scooters. At another level, because their purpose is to help people get from place to place, they are drawing people outdoors and often into social situations. The four services we analyzed were ranked in accordance with the transportations modes they support. Transit, which focuses on the experience of public transportation, scored highest, followed by Apple Maps and Google Maps, the most comprehensive solutions. Waze, which only provides driving directions, finished last within the group. Both Apple Maps and Google Maps excel at driving directions but have been steadily improving the experiences for cyclists, walkers and users of public transportation.
Default transport modes are a key opportunity, especially for Apple Maps and Google Maps. Defaults can both prompt behavior and normalize it – so, defaulting to walking directions for short trips could encourage more walking (and signal it as a cultural norm). Another opportunity lies in the default optimization of route speed (i.e. efficiency) for directions: the services could offer different optimizations, such as scenic routes or social routes. Mapping and directions services also play a role in directing people to food options and the services have an opportunity to embed nutrition quality ratings into their search results in order to encourage healthier food choices.
Methodology
In examining the different mapping and directions services, we focused primarily on design and function, asking questions such as:
how does the service facilitate access to food?
how does it support different transportation modes (given that some are healthier than others) and when does it recommend different modes?
how does it facilitate access to outdoor activities?
We also drew on results from our 2020 consumer survey that asked mapping and directions users about the services’ influence on their transportation habits.(2)
Product Profiles
Mobility Services
Highlights and Opportunities
We looked at two pairs of mobility services: Uber and Lyft, which offer ride-hailing along with some support for other modes; and the micromobility providers Bird & Spin (two services now under the same ownership) and Lime, which only offer access to shared bicycles (including e-bikes) and e-scooters. Given their emphasis on more active transportation modes, the micromobility providers scored higher. Not only do scooters and bikes offer some level of physical activity, their open-air nature means more outdoor time and potentially more social opportunities than come with traveling in a closed vehicle. Lyft and Uber did score well on social connection, as research has shown users rate their interactions with their drivers positively and that on-demand vehicle access can reduce social isolation among seniors.
The key opportunities for the micromobility providers are around creating an even more social experience – offering group discounts, for example. For Lyft and Uber, the primary opportunity is to extend their bike and scooter access (which is quite limited relative to ride hailing) as a way to encourage more physical, outdoor activity among their users.
Methodology
To assess the four mobility services, we relied heavily on the scientific literature and other research reports (including our own 2020 survey) that have examined questions such as:
What transportation mode is being substituted for by the service (e.g. does use of an e-scooter replace more walking trips than car trips?)
What are the purposes of the trips users take most often?
How does access to rideshare services affect social isolation?
What impact does access to rideshare services have on automobile ownership?
We looked at the user experiences to understand the transport options available to people and the social interactions either encouraged or discouraged.
Product Profiles
Team
Research, analysis and writing by Vanessa Rogers (automobiles and bicycles) and Steve Downs (mapping and directions services, mobility services). Scientific review and consultation on influences and opportunities relating to social engagement by Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, Carla Perissinotto, MD, MHS, Matthew Smith, PhD, MPH and Abigail Barth, MPH.
Notes
1.Vanessa Rogers. Measuring the Product Environment: How Do Automobiles and Bicycles Influence Health Behaviors? Building H on Medium, April 30, 2024.
2. Steve Downs. A Survey of Modern Life: Mobility. Building H on Medium. January 12, 2022.