In the context of the climate emergency, promoting active travel is essential for building sustainable mobility systems. Understanding the specific experiences and barriers faced by diverse groups is critical to encouraging cycling uptake. Studies reveal that immigrants cycle less than locals, and in Switzerland, residents with a portuguese migration background are 53% less likely to cycle than their Swiss counterparts.
Therefore, this contribution explores why residents in Switzerland with a portuguese migration background cycle (or not) and how their cycling practices evolve across generations, analysed through the prisms of travel socialisation and travel assimilation. Travel socialisation examines how exposure to varying social and physical environments throughout an immigrant’s migratory trajectory shapes travel behaviours. Factors such as access to transport modes (e.g., functional bicycles, car ownership), learned competencies (e.g., when and how cycling skills were acquired), and personal and peer representations and attitudes toward transport modes influence travel practices. Additionally, the influence of spatial and physical environments is considered, as regional differences within Switzerland—such as higher cycling rates in German-speaking areas—affect cycling practices. Travel assimilation, meanwhile, builds on socialisation by exploring how immigrants align their cycling behaviours with local Swiss norms over time, emphasising generational differences and avoiding assumptions of immigrant homogeneity
As part of a broader mixed-method approach combining quantitative and qualitative analyses, this presentation focuses on a national-scale quantitative study using primary data collected via a questionnaire. By exploring generational shifts, social, and territorial influences, the study identifies leverage points to promote cycling and its sustainability benefits for all.