Access to healthcare in New Jersey is affected by transportation barriers, especially for those without cars or access to public transit. Many residents face missed appointments and untreated health conditions due to difficulties reaching medical providers.
Transportation is a key social determinant of health, linking people to income, nutrition, physical activity, and healthcare. In the United States, the average travel time to a doctor’s appointment is 28 minutes by car. For those without a car, public transit can take much longer or may not be available at all.
An analysis of nearly 28,000 primary care providers in New Jersey and nearby states used data from HealthGrades.com to measure accessibility across census tracts. The study found that within 30 minutes by public transit, census tracts in New Jersey can access an average of 1.1 primary care providers per 10,000 residents. By e-bike, this number increases to 8 per 10,000 residents within the same timeframe. By car, the figure rises further to 26 per 10,000.
The research also revealed that if patients rely on public transit during peak service times on Monday mornings, about 13% of census tracts cannot reach any primary care physician within half an hour.
E-bikes present a potential solution for improving healthcare access. With an e-bike traveling at around 20 mph and avoiding highways where cycling is prohibited, almost every census tract in New Jersey could reach at least one primary care provider within half an hour. On average per tract, riders could reach approximately eight doctors per 10,000 residents; this includes five board-certified doctors, three highly rated doctors, two multilingual providers, and one Spanish-speaking doctor.
However, several obstacles hinder real-world adoption of e-bikes for healthcare trips. These include low rates of e-bike ownership due to cost barriers—even with upcoming rebate programs in New Jersey—limited cycling infrastructure such as protected lanes and secure parking at clinics or hospitals, and cultural attitudes favoring cars over bikes.
Efforts like Complete Streets programs aim to make roads safer for all users—including cyclists—which could encourage more people to use e-bikes for essential trips like visiting healthcare providers.
"By making arterial roads safer for cyclists through protected lanes and better design, we can not only expand the theoretical accessibility of e-bikes on paper but also create a more connected, safer, and encouraging road environment where people feel comfortable getting on an e-bike to ride to healthcare," wrote Yingning Xie.
Yingning Xie is a Ph.D. student in the Planning and Public Policy program with a concentration in Transportation at the Bloustein School at Rutgers University.
