Public Bike SharePart One: Summary of ExistingWorldwide Public Bike Share Schemes

September 2016

Prepared byAdelaide City CouncilDesign + Strategy

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Growth of Bike Share

o In the past decade the number of cities operating bike share schemes has increased from 13 in 2004 to around 980 cities in 2015.

o The global bike share fleet is estimated at 1.25 million bicycles, over half of which are in China.

Source: Russell Meddin, published in Fishman, 2015, Bikeshare: A Review of Recent Literature

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Bike Share Scheme Size

o The figure shows the maximum number of bicycles observed for a selection of bike share schemes.

o The two Australian bike share schemes are in Brisbane and Melbourne, with 1,832 and 545 bicycles respectively.

Source: O’Brien, 2014 published in Fishman, 2015, Bikeshare: A Review of Recent Literature

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Bike Share Usage

Source: Fishman, 2015, Bikeshare: A Review of Recent Literature, Transport Reviews

o The usage level of bike share schemes varies considerably across cities around the world. o The standard means of monitoring usage of schemes is the number of trips per bike per day. o Usage levels vary from less than one trip per bike per day for the Melbourne and Brisbane schemes to peaks of 7-8 trips per bike per day for the Barcelona, Paris and Lyon schemes.

o Usage is generally higher during the warmer months than in winter. o Weekday usage peaks between 7-9 am and 4-6 pm, suggesting higher usage for trips to and from work/education.

o The duration of bike share trips are generally between 16 and 22 minutes long, with slightly longer trips by casual members and during the warmer months.

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Key Learnings: Melbourne and Brisbane

Source: Fishman et al., 2014. Barriers to Bikesharing, Journal of Transport Geography

The key motivators for using bike share in Australia are: o convenience (including docking stations located close to work/home)

o health benefits - including having fun o environmental benefits o financial savings over other transport choices

Further research has shown that bike share members are more likely to: o be young, high income earners; o have friends/family members that are bike share members; and

o already ride their own bike to work or for recreation.

Motivations for Using Bike Share

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Source: Fishman et al., 2014. Barriers to Bikesharing, Journal of Transport Geography

• Research undertaken in Brisbane (shown above) identified that the most powerful barriers to bike share use among non-members are:

o Driving or public transport is more convenient than using the bike share scheme;

o Docking stations are not close enough to my house/work/other destinations (lack of convenience);

o Safety concerns whilst riding in traffic; and

o Don’t have access to a helmet.

• Further evidence from Brisbane has shown that the ability to sign-up immediately and hire a bike on the spot can have a significant impact on usage – a slow and cumbersome sign-up process is a barrier to bike share use.

• An overwhelming proportion of bike share members reported feeling ‘very unsafe’ or ‘unsafe’ when riding on streets with no bike infrastructure compared with the majority of bike share members feeling ‘safe’ or ‘very safe’ when riding on separated bike infrastructure.

Key Learnings: Melbourne and Brisbane Barriers to Using Bike Share

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Issues relating to helmets were the key reasons given when asked why people didn’t use the Melbourne bike share scheme

Source: Alta Bike Share, 2011

Key Learnings: Melbourne and BrisbaneBarriers to Using Bike Share

8Source: Fishman et al., 2014, Barriers to Bikesharing, Journal of Transport Geography

o Data from Melbourne indicates that the strongest usage of bike share occurs in city locations that are not well served by public transport.

o Public bike share schemes have the ability to complement the public transport system to increase the accessibility of city precincts.

Key Learnings: Melbourne and BrisbaneBike Share and Public Transport

The darker the area on the map, the

better the access to public transport

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Key Learnings: Melbourne and BrisbaneThe Australian Experience has shown...

Schemes are too small

Potential users have safety concerns related to poor bike infrastructure and driver behaviour

Mandatory helmet laws reduce bike share usage

Poor marketing campaigns have contributed to low usage

Car travel is more convenient

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Impacts of Existing Schemes

o Most of the trips made by bikes in share schemes replace trips that would otherwise have been made by public transport and walking.

o In Brisbane and Melbourne around 40% of bike share trips would otherwise have been made by public transport, around 25% on foot, 20% by private car and 8% by private bike.

o In London almost 60% of bike share trips would otherwise have been made by public transport, around 25% on foot and 8% by private bike.

o A very small number of bike share trips are new trips that wouldn’t otherwise have been made.

Source: Fishman, 2015, Bikeshare: A Review of Recent Literature

Mode Substitution

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Impacts of Existing SchemesHealth

• Research into the physical activity impacts of bike share (shown above) indicates that an average of 60% of the trips replace sedentary modes and therefore there is a positive health benefit. However, when bike share replaces walking, a net reduction in physical activity results

• Research on the health impacts of bike share schemes has focused on three areas of impact:

o physical activity o crashes o exposure to air pollution

• In general bike share is found to have a positive impact on physical activity levels, deliver more benefits than harm in relation to crashes and have limited impact on exposure to air pollution.

• The results of the research are complicated by a number of factors including the age, existing health status and sex of the user and the mode of travel that would have been used for the trip if the bike share had not been available.

Source: Fishman, Washington & Haworth, 2015

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• A study of injuries to bike riders before and after implementation of bike share schemes has shown a significant reduction in injuries to all bike riders after a scheme is implemented

• Research shows that bike share users are less likely than other bike riders to sustain fatal, severe or slight injuries.

• The reason why this is the case is not immediately obvious but it could be explained by:

o the lower travel speeds of bike share users;

o the perception that bike share users are less experienced riders or tourists and therefore are displayed a greater level of caution by motorists; and

o the generally better bike infrastructure in inner city locations where most bike share users ride

Source: Graves et al., 2014 Public Bicycle Share Programs and Head Injuries

Impacts of Existing SchemesBike Share and Injuries

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Impacts of Existing SchemesImpact on Motor Vehicle Use

o Fleet rebalancing is the need to move bikes around to ensure an even distribution between docking stations

o Fleet rebalancing and servicing can add to congestion and environmental impacts through the use of trucks and other motor vehicles to undertake this work.

o Consideration of the impact on overall use of motor vehicles after the introduction of bike share schemes (based on estimated car travel reduction and

estimated motor vehicle use to support the scheme) shows that in most cases the introduction of a bike share scheme reduces the overall use of vehicles

o The London scheme however did result in a significant overall increase in motor vehicle use following the introduction of the bike share scheme, given the very low proportion of bike share trips that would otherwise have been made by car.

Source: Fishman, Washington, & Haworth (2014)

Public Bike SharePart Two: Best Practice Principles for Success

September 2016

Prepared byAdelaide City CouncilDesign + Strategy

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Best Practice Principles for Success

Safety

Separated bicycle

infrastructure

Bicycle friendly/driver awareness

Low motorvehicle speed

Convenience

Docking stations nearby origins

and destinations

Integrated with public transport

Time competitive with other modes

Spontaneity

Immediate, easy sign up

Helmets freely and immediately

accessible

Available 24/7 with credit card swipe or

PT smartcard

Source: Fishman 2014

Public Bike SharePart Three: Options for Adelaide

September 2016

Prepared byAdelaide City CouncilDesign + Strategy

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Recommended FeaturesThe following recommended features have been identified by the IfST to assist in creating the best possible conditions for a successful bike share scheme for Adelaide:

Consider technology options such as near field communication capabilities, electric assist bikes, global positioning systems, solar power, turn-by-turn navigation technology and effective lighting systems to make the system as user friendly as possible.

Hardware

Allow free membership and free short trips (less than 30 or 60 minutes) for at least the first year to assist the transition from the current Adelaide Free Bikes scheme, provide a more level playing field with free city public transport and to encourage people to try the scheme from the outset.

Pricing Structure

Consider operating the scheme as an addition to the public transport system, with bike share docking stations located at public transport stops and interchanges and allowing access to the bike share system for users of public transport smartcards.

Integrate with public transport

Sign-up should be instantaneous using smartphones and credit cards, appropriate targeted marketing strategies should be employed whilst recognising that the most powerful marketing message is actually seeing someone riding one of the bikes.

Sign-up, marketing and promotion

An NGO owned bike share scheme, that is set up and funded by Government, is recommended

Governance and Funding Model

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Bike Fleet 1,620 bikesDocking Stations 324

CatchmentAdelaide CBDNorth AdelaideInner-rim suburbs

Capital expenditure$9.7M - $21MDependent on hardware and technology options

Annual Operating costs $2,000 - $4,000 per bike

RidershipEstimated 1.5 -2.5 trips per day per bike

Adelaide Public Bike ShareOptimal Proposal Stage One: City of Adelaie and Inner Rim Suburbs

Stage 3: Bike Share Options for Adelaide – Prepared by the Institute for Sensible Transport 5

• Investigation of overall population health impact of mandatory helmet waiver for bike share.

A Bike Share Propensity Index has been created, to identify the areas of Adelaide that display characteristics likely to support higher levels of bike share use. This is shown below with a conceptual placement of a proposed Phase One catchment, consisting of 324 docking stations, encompassing a fleet of 1,620 bikes. The darker the region, the higher the relative level of forecast bike share use.

A significantly larger catchment has also been identified, presenting a second stage of development, designed to help make bike share an option across inner Adelaide. Should Adelaide choose to develop a bike share program consistent with design and policies identified in this report, it is expected Phase One to cost between $9.7m and $21m in capital expenditure, depending on the hardware and technology options. This includes the cost for 1,620 bicycles and twice the number of docking spots, with an annual operating cost of between $2,000 and $4,000 per bike. Ridership, whilst difficult to forecast with certainty, is estimated at around 1.5 – 2.5 trips per day, per bike.

Creating the physical and policy conditions supportive of bike share in Adelaide is a long-term process. It is unlikely the necessary pre-conditions for bike share will be met in less than four years and the following illustrates the suggested sequencing of preparatory activities.

The IfST outlined a design for Adelaide that would provide an optimal scheme:

• The IfST developed a Bike Share PropensityIndex, which identified areas of Adelaidethat display characteristics that are likely tosupport high levels of bike share use.The darker the region on the map the higher therelative level of forecast bike share use.

• The extent of the scheme catchment andthe location of docking stations havebeen planned around the Bike Share PropensityIndex, in order to maximise the usage of thescheme.

Indicative location of bike share docking station

The darker the area on the map, the

better the access to public transport

Optimal Stage One Implementation

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Adelaide Public Bike Share

Figure 1 Option 1 Docking Station Catchment and Propensity Index

Following the announcement of $1 million in funding to initiate a public bike share scheme for the City and North Adelaide the IfST identified an outline of a scheme that could be implemented for the available budget:• The IfST developed a Bike Share Propensity

Index, which identified areas of Adelaide that display characteristics that are likely to support high levels of bike share use. The darker the region on the map the higher the relative level of forecast bike share use.

• The extent of the scheme catchment and the location of docking stations have been planned around the Bike Share Propensity Index, in order to maximise the usage of the scheme.

• Point-to-point hire system availble 24/7

$1 Million ‘Pilot’ Proposal Stage One

Indicative location of bike share docking station

The darker the area on the map, the

better the access to public transport

Bike Fleet 200 bikesDocking Stations 40 (10 bikes each)

CatchmentCity of AdelaideNorth Adelaide

Capital expenditureApproximately $1.2MBased on mid-range pedal-bicycle (no electric bikes)

Annual Operating costs To be determined

Ridership To be determined

$1 Million Pilot Stage One Implementation