PONE-D-24-51820Just another bike? Modelling the interdependence of conventional and electric bicycle ownership and the influence of topography using large-scale travel survey data from GermanyPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Arning,

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Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Additional Editor Comments:

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After consideration of the reviews provided by our expert reviewers, I have reached a decision of major revision for your manuscript. Below, I provide a summary of the key points raised by the reviewers to help guide your revisions:

Novelty and Contribution:

While the manuscript is well-written, the reviewers have noted that the degree of novelty and innovation is limited. To strengthen your submission, it is recommended to:

Clearly differentiate your study from existing works using the same dataset (e.g., Kohlrautz and Kuhnimhof).

Highlight the novel contributions of your study explicitly in the introduction, potentially through a dedicated "Main Contribution" section.

Practical Use Cases:

Reviewer 1 suggests that including practical use cases in the discussion section would add value to your study. These could include applications for transportation planners, business models for manufacturers, or other relevant domains such as simulations.

Clarity of Methods:

Reviewer 2 pointed out that the mathematical presentation of the nested logit model and multivariate probit model is not sufficiently clear. Adding more detailed equations and explanations would improve the clarity and rigor of your methodology section.

Figures and Data Visualization:

To enhance the readability and impact of your manuscript, Reviewer 2 recommends adding more comparative figures, particularly to illustrate key differences between conventional and electric bicycles. This would provide a stronger visual representation of your findings.

Formatting and Presentation:

Ensure consistency in formatting, especially in the references section.

Address any minor typographical errors to improve the overall presentation of the manuscript.

Data Accessibility:

Reviewer 1 noted that your manuscript does not fully adhere to the PLOS Data Availability Policy. Please ensure all underlying data are made fully accessible or clearly state any limitations.

I invite you to revise your manuscript in response to these comments. In preparing your revision, please provide a detailed response to each reviewer comment, indicating how you have addressed their concerns. If you choose not to address a specific comment, provide a clear and thorough justification. Please note that while the revisions address several substantial points, they do not necessarily guarantee acceptance, as the revised manuscript will undergo further evaluation.

Thank you for your submission.

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: N/A

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: The paper apply basic models to survey based data (mobility in Germany) and two spatial data (degree of urbanisation and topography) to identify and analyse influential factors for e-bike ownership. The paper is well written, the methodology is clearly explained and the results are well presented.

However, it must be noted that the novelty and degree of innovation is very limited. Standard methods are applied to a data set that has already been analyzed in a similar way in many papers (some of which have been cited). The results clearly show and underline what one would already think influences e-bike ownership. Use cases on how the information can be used would be interesting and could be a part of the discussion. Apart from business models of bike manufacturers, there are certainly also use cases for transportation planners, simulations, etc. which one could elaborate.

Specific recommendation:

- Clearer differentiation from existing papers that use the same data set to investigate similar questions (e.g. Kohlrautz and Kuhnimhof)

- Clearly emphasize novelty and innovation, if necessary list the “Main Contribution” in the introduction

- Add specific use cases on how and where the results can be applied in discussion

Reviewer #2: Regarding this manuscript, I have the following suggestions for the author's reference, and I look forward to adding more readability to this study.

1.The formatting is not standardised in some places in the manuscript, such as the references.

2.There are only four figures in the manuscript, which is too few, and some relevant comparative figures of conventional bicycles and e-bikes can be added appropriately to make it easier for readers to understand.

3.Too few formulas to introduce the nested logit model and the multivariate probit model, not clear enough.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Just another bike? Modelling the interdependence of conventional and electric bicycle ownership and the influence of topography using large-scale travel survey data from Germany

PONE-D-24-51820R1

Dear Dr. Arning,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Michał Suchanek, D.Sc.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Dear Authors,

I've reviewed the changes which you've made to the paper and find them to be a substantial improvement in line with reviewers' and mine recommendations. I am thus recommending an accept decision.

Reviewers' comments: