Promoting active transportation through technology: a scoping review of mobile apps for walking and cycling
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Siriaporn, Nuttanun
de Nazelle, Audrey
Vuillemin, Anne
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background
Incorporating active transportation (AT), such as walking and cycling, into daily routines is a promising solution for meeting the World Health Organization’s physical activity recommendations and contributes to reducing the risk of many noncommunicable diseases. Smartphone apps offer versatile platforms for embedding health behavior promotion strategies to encourage AT.
Objective
This scoping review aimed to provide an overview of how mobile apps are being used to promote AT through reviews of the academic literature and commercial app stores.
Methods
We searched six academic databases (Embase, Medline, Web of Science, PsychINFO, Transport Database, and Google Scholar) for academic literature. The literature was included if it presented a developed app to promote AT behaviors. AT promotion strategies and theories were extracted and analyzed for their impact on changing behaviors and behavioral intentions toward AT. Commercial apps were searched in two app stores (the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store) across six countries, one per continent. Apps were included if they promoted and encouraged AT behavior. We evaluated the apps on the basis of user engagement and their quality and potential to change behaviors, as assessed via the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) and the App Behavior Change Scale (ABACUS).
Results
The academic literature search identified 38 articles, presenting 29 apps. All the studies that evaluated behavioral intentions reported success in raising awareness and changing behavioral intentions. A promising strategy to motivate behavior involves providing multiple relevant feedback (calories burned, money saved, time saved, and CO2/particulate matter emissions) on behavioral impacts alongside action plans (route recommendations and personalized travel plans). Only two apps from the literature search were publicly available. The commercial app search identified 78 apps. Apps with high-quality engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information presented greater user engagement than those that did not; therefore, they were more likely to succeed.
Conclusion
Mobile apps have great potential to motivate changes and be part of a comprehensive system to promote AT. Given the rapid growth of app-based interventions, leveraging mobile apps to encourage AT warrants further exploration. Upon development, these apps should be maintained and made publicly accessible.
Incorporating active transportation (AT), such as walking and cycling, into daily routines is a promising solution for meeting the World Health Organization’s physical activity recommendations and contributes to reducing the risk of many noncommunicable diseases. Smartphone apps offer versatile platforms for embedding health behavior promotion strategies to encourage AT.
Objective
This scoping review aimed to provide an overview of how mobile apps are being used to promote AT through reviews of the academic literature and commercial app stores.
Methods
We searched six academic databases (Embase, Medline, Web of Science, PsychINFO, Transport Database, and Google Scholar) for academic literature. The literature was included if it presented a developed app to promote AT behaviors. AT promotion strategies and theories were extracted and analyzed for their impact on changing behaviors and behavioral intentions toward AT. Commercial apps were searched in two app stores (the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store) across six countries, one per continent. Apps were included if they promoted and encouraged AT behavior. We evaluated the apps on the basis of user engagement and their quality and potential to change behaviors, as assessed via the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) and the App Behavior Change Scale (ABACUS).
Results
The academic literature search identified 38 articles, presenting 29 apps. All the studies that evaluated behavioral intentions reported success in raising awareness and changing behavioral intentions. A promising strategy to motivate behavior involves providing multiple relevant feedback (calories burned, money saved, time saved, and CO2/particulate matter emissions) on behavioral impacts alongside action plans (route recommendations and personalized travel plans). Only two apps from the literature search were publicly available. The commercial app search identified 78 apps. Apps with high-quality engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information presented greater user engagement than those that did not; therefore, they were more likely to succeed.
Conclusion
Mobile apps have great potential to motivate changes and be part of a comprehensive system to promote AT. Given the rapid growth of app-based interventions, leveraging mobile apps to encourage AT warrants further exploration. Upon development, these apps should be maintained and made publicly accessible.
Date Issued
2025-03-11
Date Acceptance
2025-02-27
Citation
BMC Public Health, 2025, 25
ISSN
1471-2458
Publisher
BMC
Journal / Book Title
BMC Public Health
Volume
25
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40065314
PII: 10.1186/s12889-025-22131-6
Subjects
Active transportation
Behavior change
Mhealth
Mobile apps
Scoping review
Travel behavior
Humans
Mobile Applications
Bicycling
Walking
Health Promotion
Transportation
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
952
Date Publish Online
2025-03-11