Bike share’s impact on car use: Evidence from the United States, Great Britain, and Australia

• Published in: Transportation research. Part D, Transport and environment Transport and environment, 2014-08, Vol.31, p.13-20
• Main Authors: Fishman, Elliot, Washington, Simon, Haworth, Narelle
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Atmospheric pollution; Bicycle; Bike share; Car use; City; Crashworthiness; Estimates; Exact sciences and technology; Great Britain; Ground, air and sea transportation, marine construction; In vehicle; Maintenance; Mathematical analysis; Motor vehicles; Pollution; Pollution sources. Measurement results; Reduction; Road transportation and traffic; Sustainable; Transport; Transports
• ISSN: 1361-9209; 1879-2340
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trd.2014.05.013

•Examines the degree to which bike share replaces car trips.•Bike share operator vehicle use (for bike redistribution) is calculated.•An estimate of bike share’s overall contribution to changes in vehicle kilometres traveled is made.•Bike share is shown to reduce car use in all cities included in the analysis, with the exception of London.•Bike share’s effectiveness is dependent on whether it replaces car use. There are currently more than 700 cities operating bike share programs. Purported benefits of bike share include flexible mobility, physical activity, reduced congestion, emissions and fuel use. Implicit or explicit in the calculation of program benefits are assumptions regarding the modes of travel replaced by bike share journeys. This paper examines the degree to which car trips are replaced by bike share, through an examination of survey and trip data from bike share programs in Melbourne, Brisbane, Washington, D.C., London, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. A secondary and unique component of this analysis examines motor vehicle support services required for bike share fleet rebalancing and maintenance. These two components are then combined to estimate bike share’s overall contribution to changes in vehicle kilometers traveled. The results indicate an estimated reduction in motor vehicle use due to bike share of approx. 90,000km per annum in Melbourne and Minneapolis/St. Paul and 243,291km for Washington, D.C. London’s bike share program however recorded an additional 766,341km in motor vehicle use. This was largely due to a low car mode substitution rate and substantial truck use for rebalancing of bicycles. As bike share programs mature, evaluation of their effectiveness in reducing car use may become increasingly important. Researchers can adapt the analytical approach proposed in this paper to assist in the evaluation of current and future bike share programs.