AB
A. Bouchtoubi
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Fat bikes have become a visible and controversial part of urban mobility in the Netherlands. They are often associated with safety concerns, nuisance and irresponsible behaviour in public debate. However, it still remains unclear to what extent these portrayals actually reflect the experiences of fat bike riders themselves. This study examines how fat bike riders experience, interpret and respond to these dominant public narratives surrounding their bikes.
In order to address this, the study combines a media analysis with semi-structured interviews. The media analysis explores how fat bikes and their users are presented and/or framed in public discourse, while the interviews provide a greater insight into how riders themselves experience these portrayals and how this influences their behaviour and identity.
The findings reveal a clear difference in how the public is represented and the everyday experiences of riders’. Even though riders primarily describe the bike as a practical and ordinary means of transportation, media coverage frequently frames fat bikes as problematic and linked to unsafe behaviour. Riders simultaneously experience collective blame, where responsibility for individual incidents is extended to the whole group. This results into perceptions of unfairness, which in turn influence how riders behave and present themselves in public. For example, by riding safer or distancing themselves from negative stereotypes.
These findings highlight that safety concerns that are linked to fat bikes cannot be understood in terms of the technology only but are also strongly shaped by user behaviour and public framing. Looking from a Management of Technology perspective, this study shows that emerging mobility technologies can be considered as socio-technical systems, where public discourse, user practices and institutional responses interact with each other.
The results suggest that policy responses should emphasize more on behaviour rather than targeting specific vehicle types. Also, more balanced public communication could help battle stigma and improve the alignment between public perception and riders' lived experience. Overall, this study demonstrates that managing emerging mobility technologies requires attention not only to technical characteristics but also to the social and discursive context in which they are embedded.
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In order to address this, the study combines a media analysis with semi-structured interviews. The media analysis explores how fat bikes and their users are presented and/or framed in public discourse, while the interviews provide a greater insight into how riders themselves experience these portrayals and how this influences their behaviour and identity.
The findings reveal a clear difference in how the public is represented and the everyday experiences of riders’. Even though riders primarily describe the bike as a practical and ordinary means of transportation, media coverage frequently frames fat bikes as problematic and linked to unsafe behaviour. Riders simultaneously experience collective blame, where responsibility for individual incidents is extended to the whole group. This results into perceptions of unfairness, which in turn influence how riders behave and present themselves in public. For example, by riding safer or distancing themselves from negative stereotypes.
These findings highlight that safety concerns that are linked to fat bikes cannot be understood in terms of the technology only but are also strongly shaped by user behaviour and public framing. Looking from a Management of Technology perspective, this study shows that emerging mobility technologies can be considered as socio-technical systems, where public discourse, user practices and institutional responses interact with each other.
The results suggest that policy responses should emphasize more on behaviour rather than targeting specific vehicle types. Also, more balanced public communication could help battle stigma and improve the alignment between public perception and riders' lived experience. Overall, this study demonstrates that managing emerging mobility technologies requires attention not only to technical characteristics but also to the social and discursive context in which they are embedded.
...
Fat bikes have become a visible and controversial part of urban mobility in the Netherlands. They are often associated with safety concerns, nuisance and irresponsible behaviour in public debate. However, it still remains unclear to what extent these portrayals actually reflect the experiences of fat bike riders themselves. This study examines how fat bike riders experience, interpret and respond to these dominant public narratives surrounding their bikes.
In order to address this, the study combines a media analysis with semi-structured interviews. The media analysis explores how fat bikes and their users are presented and/or framed in public discourse, while the interviews provide a greater insight into how riders themselves experience these portrayals and how this influences their behaviour and identity.
The findings reveal a clear difference in how the public is represented and the everyday experiences of riders’. Even though riders primarily describe the bike as a practical and ordinary means of transportation, media coverage frequently frames fat bikes as problematic and linked to unsafe behaviour. Riders simultaneously experience collective blame, where responsibility for individual incidents is extended to the whole group. This results into perceptions of unfairness, which in turn influence how riders behave and present themselves in public. For example, by riding safer or distancing themselves from negative stereotypes.
These findings highlight that safety concerns that are linked to fat bikes cannot be understood in terms of the technology only but are also strongly shaped by user behaviour and public framing. Looking from a Management of Technology perspective, this study shows that emerging mobility technologies can be considered as socio-technical systems, where public discourse, user practices and institutional responses interact with each other.
The results suggest that policy responses should emphasize more on behaviour rather than targeting specific vehicle types. Also, more balanced public communication could help battle stigma and improve the alignment between public perception and riders' lived experience. Overall, this study demonstrates that managing emerging mobility technologies requires attention not only to technical characteristics but also to the social and discursive context in which they are embedded.
In order to address this, the study combines a media analysis with semi-structured interviews. The media analysis explores how fat bikes and their users are presented and/or framed in public discourse, while the interviews provide a greater insight into how riders themselves experience these portrayals and how this influences their behaviour and identity.
The findings reveal a clear difference in how the public is represented and the everyday experiences of riders’. Even though riders primarily describe the bike as a practical and ordinary means of transportation, media coverage frequently frames fat bikes as problematic and linked to unsafe behaviour. Riders simultaneously experience collective blame, where responsibility for individual incidents is extended to the whole group. This results into perceptions of unfairness, which in turn influence how riders behave and present themselves in public. For example, by riding safer or distancing themselves from negative stereotypes.
These findings highlight that safety concerns that are linked to fat bikes cannot be understood in terms of the technology only but are also strongly shaped by user behaviour and public framing. Looking from a Management of Technology perspective, this study shows that emerging mobility technologies can be considered as socio-technical systems, where public discourse, user practices and institutional responses interact with each other.
The results suggest that policy responses should emphasize more on behaviour rather than targeting specific vehicle types. Also, more balanced public communication could help battle stigma and improve the alignment between public perception and riders' lived experience. Overall, this study demonstrates that managing emerging mobility technologies requires attention not only to technical characteristics but also to the social and discursive context in which they are embedded.