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Accepted (AM)Open Access (License Unspecified), Open
Journal article
Freedom from the station: Spatial equity in access to dockless bike share
Journal of transport geography, Vol.74, pp.91-96
01 Jan 2019
PMCID: PMC6756758
PMID: 31548761
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Background: Bike sharing systems have potential to substantially boost active transportation levels (and consequent physical and mental health) in urban populations. We explored equity of spatial access in a novel `dockless' bike share system that does not that constrain bike pickup and drop-off locations to docking stations.
Methods: Starting in July 2017, Seattle, Washington piloted a dockless bike share system that made 10,000 bikes available. We merged data on resident socio-demographic and economic characteristics from the American Community Survey about 93 defined neighborhoods with data about bike locations, bike idle time, and which neighborhoods operators rebalanced bikes to. We used mapping and descriptive statistics to compare access between neighborhoods along sociodemographic and economic lines.
Results: With many bikes available, no neighborhood was consistently excluded from access. However, the average availability ranged from 3 bikes per day to 341 per day. Neighborhoods with more bikes had more college-educated residents (median 75% college-educated vs. 65%) and local community resources (median opportunity index score of 24 vs. 19), and higher incomes (median 83,202 vs. 71,296). Rebalancing destinations were strongly correlated with neighborhood demand (r = 0.61).
Conclusions: The overall scale of the dockless system ensured there was baseline access throughout Seattle. We observed modest inequities in access along sociodemographic lines, similar to prior findings in studies of docked bike share systems. Dockless bike share systems hold promise for offering equitable spatial access to bike sharing.
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Details
- Title
- Freedom from the station: Spatial equity in access to dockless bike share
- Creators
- Stephen J. Mooney - Harborview Injury Prevention and Research CenterKate Hosford - University of British ColumbiaBill Howee - Univ Washington, Informat Sch, Seattle, WA 98195 USAAn Yan - University of WashingtonMeghan Winters - Simon Fraser UniversityAlon Bassok - Washington State Department of TransportationJana A. Hirsch - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Journal of transport geography, Vol.74, pp.91-96
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Number of pages
- 6
- Grant note
- People for Bikes Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC) at the University of Washington K99LM012868 / NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Library of Medicine (NLM) 5T32HD057822-07 / National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, United States Better Bike Share Partnership, United States 1K99LM012868 / National Library of Medicine, United States Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia Area Seattle Department of Transportation City of Philadelphia JPB Foundation National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) T32HD057822 / EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Urban Health Collaborative
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000459519800008
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85056793777
- Other Identifier
- 991019168532204721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Economics
- Geography
- Transportation