Micromobility responds to urban transport challenges by reducing emissions, mitigating traffic, and improving accessibility. Nevertheless, the safety of micromobility users, particularly cyclists, remains a concern in urban environments. This study aims to construct a safety map and a risk-averse routing system for micromobility users in diverse urban environments, as exemplified by a case study in Lisbon. A data-driven methodology uses object detection algorithms and image segmentation techniques to identify potential risk factors on cycling routes from Google Street View images. The ‘Bikeable’ Multilayer Perceptron neural network measures these risks, assigning safety scores to each image. The method analyzed 5321 points across 24 parishes in Lisbon, with an average safety score of 4.5, indicating a generally safe environment for cyclists. Carnide emerged as the safest area, while Alcântara exhibited a higher level of potential risks. Additionally, an equation is proposed to compute route efficiency, enabling comparisons between different routes for identical origin-destination pairs. Preliminary findings suggest that the presented routing solution exhibits higher efficiency than the commercial routing benchmark. Risk-averse routes did not result in a substantial rise in travel distance or time, with increments of 7% on average. The study also contributed to increasing the existing amount of cycle path data in Lisbon by 12%, correcting inaccuracies, and updating the network in OpenStreetMap, providing access to more precise information and, consequently, more routes. The key contributions of this study, such as the safety map and risk-averse router, underscore the potential of data-driven tools for boosting urban micromobility. The solutions proposed demonstrate modularity and adaptability, making them fit for a range of urban scenarios and highlighting their value for cities prioritizing safe, sustainable urban mobility.

Cycling is a sustainable mode of transportation with significant benefits for society. The number of cyclists on the streets depends heavily on their perception of safety, which makes it essential to establish a common metric for determining and comparing risk factors related to road safety. This research addresses the identification of cyclists’ risk factors using deep learning techniques applied to a Google Street View (GSV) imagery dataset. The research utilizes a case study approach, focusing on London, and applies object detection and image segmentation models to extract cyclists’ risk factors from GSV images. Two state-of-the-art tools, You Only Look Once version 5 (YOLOv5) and the pyramid scene parsing network (PSPNet101), were used for object detection and image segmentation. This study analyzes the results and discusses the technology’s limitations and potential for improvements in assessing cyclist safety. Approximately 2 million objects were identified, and 250 billion pixels were labeled in the 500,000 images available in the dataset. On average, 108 images were analyzed per Lower Layer Super Output Area (LSOA) in London. The distribution of risk factors, including high vehicle speed, tram/train rails, truck circulation, parked cars and the presence of pedestrians, was identified at the LSOA level using YOLOv5. Statistically significant negative correlations were found between cars and buses, cars and cyclists, and cars and people. In contrast, positive correlations were observed between people and buses and between people and bicycles. Using PSPNet101, building (19%), sky (15%) and road (15%) pixels were the most common. The findings of this research have the potential to contribute to a better understanding of risk factors for cyclists in urban environments and provide insights for creating safer cities for cyclists by applying deep learning techniques.

Regarding the author correction request, it has been clarified that the original paper was based on a master’s project at Imperial College London