Understanding bike share reach, use, access and function: An exploratory study

Background: Bike shares have been shown to increase physical activity among users by replacing sedentary modes of travel. Objective: To examine factors affecting the operation of bike share systems. Method: Representatives from bike shares around the world were recruited to participate in an online survey. Questions addressed information about the bike share, efforts reach to different populations, goals of the bike share, and perceived barriers/motivators to bike share use. Differences between high- and low-use bike shares were examined. Results: Respondents (n = 23) were predominately from the USA (n = 20). The mean number of bikes in the bike share was 591.22 ± 777.26 and the mean number of stations was 73.26 ± 85.07. Bike share operators estimated that 44.13% of trips were made by women, 8.81% by children, 10.40% by older adults, 18.13% by ethnic minorities, and 12.67% by persons of low income. Bike shares revealed low reach among minorities and those of lower income. Popular short-term goals of the bike shares included increasing users and trips. The top motivator was ease of access to stations. Conclusion: These findings may assist bike shares in increasing ridership and reach, facilitating in the primary goal of increasing rates of active travel among all populations.