Public Bikesharing in North America

NEW REPORT: Public bikesharing—the shared use of a bicycle fleet—is an innovative transportation strategy that has recently emerged in major North American cities. Information technology (IT)-based bikesharing systems typically position bicycles throughout an urban environment, among a network of docking stations, for immediate access. Trips can be one-way, round-trip, or both, depending on the operator. Bikesharing can serve as both a first-and-last mile (connector to other modes) and a many-mile solution. 

PUBLIC BIKESHARING IN NORTH AMERICA:
EARLY OPERATOR AND USER UNDERSTANDING

This just published 138 page report by Dr.Susan Shaheen and a team from the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley opens with a good three page Executive Summary and is available for free download at http://transweb.sjsu.edu/project/1029.html

SYNPOSIS:

As of January 2012, 15 IT-based, public bikesharing systems were operating in the United States, with a total of 172,070 users and 5,238 bicycles. Four IT-based programs in Canada had a total of 44,352 users and 6,235 bicycles.

This study evaluates public bikesharing in North America, reviewing the advances in technology and major events during its rapid expansion. We conducted 14 interviews with industry experts, public officials, and governmental agencies in the United States and Canada during summer 2011/spring 2012 and interviewed all 19 IT-based bikesharing organizations in the United States and Canada in spring 2012. Several bikesharing insurance experts were also consulted in spring 2012.

[Keep reading at worldstreets]