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A brief study exploring social equity within bicycle share programs
Journal article   Peer reviewed

A brief study exploring social equity within bicycle share programs

Kristin Gavin, Aronté Bennett, Amy H. Auchincloss and Anna Katenta
Transportation letters, v 8(3)
26 May 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19427867.2015.1126065
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Access Bicycle share Bike Planning Resource allocation Social environment Social equity Sociodemographic factors
Often subsidized with public funds, it is expected that bicycle share programs be socially equitable, accessible to, and usable by all residents within their service areas. This study suggests simple indicators that can be used to assess equitability of bicycle share programs. We apply the indicators to membership survey and website marketing materials from bicycle share programs in three US cities. Descriptive analyses found bicycle sharers are largely educated, affluent, younger Caucasian males, a demographic that does not reflect the composition of bicycle share service areas. Website image analyses found that bicycle share users portrayed on program websites were more likely to be white (vs. non-white) but the distribution by sex and age was roughly proportional to the composition of bicycle share service areas. Findings suggest that bicycle share membership does not equitably reflect the communities where programs are operating, and that marketing communication practices may be a contributing factor.

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9 Record Views
31 citations in Web of Science
30 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Transportation
Transportation Science & Technology
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