Bike Sharing Frequently Asked Questions
What is bike sharing?
What will happen at the bike sharing demonstration events?
What is the Portland Bureau of Transportation pursuing in regards to bike sharing?
How much would it cost?
What are the different types of bike sharing systems?
Do any North American cities have bike sharing programs?
Where is bike sharing successful?
Who uses bike sharing systems?
What type of trips are bike sharing trips?
What type of trips does bike sharing replace?
Can bike sharing and transit work together?
Do successful bike sharing programs share common traits?
What challenges do cities face with bike sharing?
Is Portland’s bike mode share and bike ownership rate too high to benefit from bike sharing?
Are there any bike sharing cities that are similar to Portland's bike culture?
How are cities paying for bike sharing?
What is bike sharing?
Bike sharing systems provide short-term bike rental through an automated system in urban cities and college campuses (source: Paul de Maio, MetroBikes LLC). Similar to carsharing, bike sharing systems contain a large fleet distributed at high and medium density areas. They both also require users to become members. Unlike carsharing, bike sharing systems usually allow for one-way trips and sometimes provide short-term (daily, weekly, etc.) membership options. Users check out a bike by credit card, membership card, and/or by cell phone at a docking station.
Bike sharing increases mobility by providing an additional, flexible transportation mode. It has the potential to introduce new people to urban bicycling, reduce peak-hour pressure on transit, reduce automobile trips, and improve livability. There are roughly 100 bike sharing programs in Europe.
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What happened at the Portland Bike Sharing Demonstration events?
The Portland Bureau of Transportation invited bike sharing vendors to come to Portland to demonstrate their systems. The demonstration took place on Friday, August 14 and August 16, 2009 at Waterfront Park and Laurelhurst Park, respectively.
Four vendors participated: Bcycle (slated for Denver), Bixi (currently operating in Montreal), The Bike Share Group, and Portland Bicycle Share. The public rode the bicycles, talked with the vendors and City staff, and had the choice to submit a survey on bike sharing. PBOT is compiling the survey results and will post them on this page.
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What is the Portland Bureau of Transportation pursuing in regards to bike sharing?
The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation is currently studying bike sharing and its cost-effectiveness in increasing the number of Portlanders using the bicycle as their primary form of transportation for trips under three miles. There is currently no funding dedicated to implementing a bike sharing system.
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What are the different types of bike sharing systems?
Bike sharing has evolved over its 40-year history and is often organized into three phases:
- 1st Generation: Organic, no-tech, unstructured approach first implemented in Amsterdam in the late 1960s. Re-conditioned bikes painted common color, placed for free use throughout city with no restrictions. Bikes are often stolen or damaged. Examples include Amsterdam White Bikes (1969), Portland Yellow Bikes (1994-96), and Madison Red Bikes.
- 2nd Generation: Low-tech, moderate expense. Singular design to deter theft, bikes unlocked through coin deposit lock. No tracking of bicycles; systems never reached critical mass. Examples include Copenhagen (City Bikes), Helsinki, and Toronto. Melbourne is reportedly exploring such a system.
- 3rd Generation: High-tech, expensive ($500 - $4000/bike). Smart Card or cell phone technology allows for quick access and better tracking of fleet. Cell phone activated systems tend to have a much lower capital ($500-$1500) and operating costs than Smart Card systems. Several, highly publicized successful programs include Paris, Lyon, and Barcelona (all Smart Card technology). Cell phone programs (aka “Call a Bike”) are prominent in Germany
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Do any North American cities have bike sharing programs?
Montreal, Quebec (3000 bikes) and Washington, DC (110 bikes) are the only two North American cities with bike sharing systems. Washington, DC program's relatively small size doesn’t provide an adequate network of stations that make bike sharing an option for a majority of trips. Likewise, Montreal’s program is too new (June 2009 start date) from which to draw meaningful conclusions. Arlington, Boston, Denver and Minneapolis are poised to implement programs in 2010.
Given the limited North American experience with modern bike sharing systems, PBOT's analysis relies on data from Europe. With its different culture, land use and traffic patterns, it is possible that the bike sharing system in Portland would differ from those in Europe.
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Where is Bike Sharing Successful?
Paris, France’s Velib system is generally considered successful. In two years, Velib’s 20,000 bicycles generated over 54 million trips. On average, Parisians and its visitors generate 74,000 bike sharing trips a day. Lyon, France’s Velo’v program (which Paris copied) is arguably more successful with an average of 22,000 trips/day on a 3,000 bike fleet – or roughly seven trips per bike per day. Barcelona’s Bicing project planners projected to gain 2,000 bike sharing members per month. After just four months, 82,000 people had joined (source: Clear Channel Outdoor). Barcelona has since doubled the size of its program to 6000 bikes.
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Who uses bike sharing systems?
Although users are reported as old as 80, the majority of users in European programs range in age from 18-45 category.
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What type of trips are bike sharing trips?
Commute trips to work and college comprise the vast majority of bike sharing trips among the three largest European bike sharing systems (source: Data on Subscription and Customers…Stationnement de Montreal). In general, trips tend to be under 20 minutes and 1.25 miles in length.
Recent programs have encouraged short trips through a progressive rate structure that provides the first half-hour at no charge. This free half hour has the dual benefit of encouraging people to try the system while expanding the capacity of the system by encouraging short trips (and thus each bike is more likely to be available).
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What type of trips does bike sharing replace?
In Europe, bike sharing trips tend to replace primarily transit and walking trips. On average of the four city systems cited below, eight percent (8%) of bike sharing trips replaced automobile trips. In Lyon's Velo'v system, bike sharing is replacing approximately 700,000 car trips a year. Paris' Velib system is replacing approximately 2,160,000 motor vehicle trips a year. These figures do not include bike sharing users who buy a personal bike and began biking for a wider diversity of trips.
(Please note in the table below that each column does not sum to 100%).
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Can bike sharing and transit work together?
Bike sharing can reduce travel time and increase accessibility to transit, particularly on the first or last leg of a transit trip. However, the only data PBOT has found related to bike sharing being used in conjunction with other modes was for Barcelona’s Bicing system. There, 72% reported making bike-only (i.e., single-mode) bike sharing trips. Of the remaining 28% bike sharing users who did combine their bike sharing trip with other travel modes, the vast majority (76%) used Bicing in combination with transit (source: Data on Subscription and Customers…Stationnement de Montreal).
Nearly all bike sharing systems include bikes at transit centers and rail stations. Bike sharing could help alleviate problems associated with the limited storage space for personal bikes on buses and MAX trains. TriMet’s survey of MAX riders who brought their bikes onboard found that 59% reported that their destination was too far reach on foot. If the riders’ final destination was within a conceptual bike sharing service area, bike sharing could negate the need for these riders to bring their bikes onboard. .
In addition, TriMet’s Bikes-MAX report found bike sharing would be a popular bike-transit alternative to bringing their bikes aboard TriMet (49% of all respondents). Of those who alighted MAX with their bikes downtown, 43% had final destinations within a ½ mile of the station (Bike-MAX Report, p. 11). The short distance could easily be satisfied by bike sharing (or walking).
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Do successful bike sharing programs share common traits?
“Successful” here is narrowly defined to describe systems that have generated a large number of bicycle trips and have engaged a large number of people. Paris, Lyon and Barcelona are the three cities that meet these criteria.
Since the introduction of bike sharing, bicycle trips in Lyon have increased (public and personal combined) by 80% (source: Presentation: “Bicycles as public individual transport,” Sebastian Buhrmann). Lyon’s Velo’v has proven extremely successful in introducing new people to bicycling for urban transport. Ninety-six (96%) percent of Velo’v users had not ridden a bike in the city center previous to the introduction of bike sharing (source: “New Seamless Mobility Services: Public Bicycles,” Niches, European Commission). Each of the bikes in Barcelona’s Bicing fleet averages 16 trips per day (source: Presentation: “Bicycles as public individual transport,” Sebastian Buhrmann).
However, there are a number of bike sharing systems that are very popular with the public (e.g., Washington, DC and Oslo, Norway) that have not made an appreciable impact on the percentage of trips made by bicycle.
Shared characteristics of successful programs in Barcelona, Lyon and Paris:
- Convenient, self-service model with Smart Card technology
- Progressive rate structure with first half hour free
- Bikes are widely available within usage area, stations spaced every 4-5 Portland-sized blocks
- Transit network is extensive
- Bikes are placed in high density urban environment near employment centers and universities. (In Portland, this could translate to a system spanning the Central Business District, Portland State University, Old Town/Chinatown, Pearl District, West End, Lloyd District, and NW Portland).
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What challenges do cities face with bike sharing?
Theft and vandalism: Parked outside or in use 24 hours a day in urban conditions, theft and vandalism has plagued many 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation bike sharing systems. However, theft rates vary widely. Paris has experienced the gravest problems, with over half of the first 15,000 bikes reportedly lost or stolen. Even though its bicycles are locked with with cable lock, Berlin’s Next Bike system has experienced a lower theft rate even though bicycles are locked with a cable lock (source: telephone conversation with Paul DeMaio, Metro Bike LLC).
The Montreal Gazette reports that thieves have stolen 40 of Montreal’s 3,000 Bixi bikes in the first six weeks. If theft continued at this rate, approximately 10% of the bike fleet would be stolen in one year. Montreal's operator, Bixi, has made changes to stop this problem and reports no thefts since the changes have been implemented.
Theft in other cities has been less prevalent. Washington, DC’s SmartBike DC has had only one of its 120 bikes stolen in nearly a year and a half of operation.
Maintenance of bicycles and docking stations: Although over 90% of Paris’ Velib members are satisfied with Velib system, maintenance of both the bikes and the docking stations were the top complaints. The Bike Sharing Blog noted that a spot inspection of 10% of BIXI stations found 1 in 5 bikes in disrepair and some docking racks vandalized and unusable.
Helmet use: Among the 100-plus bike sharing systems in the world, none require the use of helmets*.
Although bike crashes where cyclists do not wear helmets are significantly more likely to result in traumatic injuries, logistical barriers to providing helmets are numerous:
- Staffing each bike sharing station to provide a helmet and make sure it is properly sized and fitted is cost prohibitive (e.g., Lyon, FR has 24,000 trips/day).
- Hygiene (think of helmets shared by thousands of strangers)
- Structural Integrity of helmets used by hundreds if not thousands of users.
*However, the parent company of Bixi, Public Bike System, is set to pilot a bike sharing program with a helmet vending machine in Ottawa, Canada, where helmet use is mandatory. This does not address the issue of hygiene or proper fitting.
Cost: (please see next question)
How much would it cost?
Smart Card bike sharing systems range in price from $3,000 - $4,000 including the cost of docking stations, computer software, licensing, bikes, and other capital expenditures. Operating costs range from $1000 - $2000/bike, although some business plans purport that 80% - 100% of operating costs can be re-captured through subscriptions and rental and user fees. Cell phone activated systems tend to have a much lower capital costs ($500-$1500/bike) than Smart Card systems, but require more staffing.
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Is Portland’s bike mode share and bike ownership rate too high to benefit from bike sharing?
Barcelona, Lyon and Paris are the only cities that have experienced a significant increase in mode share from the introduction of bike sharing. Each had low bike ownership rates (under 40%) and low bike mode share (about 1.5% of trips compared to Portland's is 4% - 8%). Likewise, Barcelona, Lyon and Paris are the only cities to implement large-scale systems with a progressive rate structure where the first half hour is free.
Are these three cities successful because of the large scale of their programs or because of their low rates of bike ownerships and trips by bike? Until a city with a high bike ownership rate or modest-to-high bike ridership rates implements a large-scale bike sharing program, the answer is likely to be unclear.
It is clear that a program must be large to have the potential to create a large number of new bike trips. Since bikes must be returned to a bike sharing docking station, a small system offers the capacity to reach only a small percentage of a city's trips. Secondly, from a purely statistical perspective, a small number of bikes can't impact the thousands of trips that are made each day within the city.
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Are there any bike sharing cities that are similar to Portland's bike culture?
Will Portland’s relatively high bike ownership rate impede the potential success of bike sharing? Bike sharing proponents argue that bike sharing provides easy access to a bicycle, and that ability for spontaneous use dramatically increases the number of trips taken by people that already own bicycles. For example, one-way trips allow for users to bike to a work meeting even if the person commuted by transit or car. In addition, even though 60%-70% of Portlanders own bikes, it is unclear what percentage of the bikes are currently in operable condition.
Montreal’s Bixi system currently provides the best comparison to Portland. Bike ownership rates are similar to Portland’s (source: email from Alexandre Richard, Stationnement de Montréal, 10/29/2008). Like Portland, Montreal has a strong bicycling culture. Bixi is nearly identical in size and scope to Lyon's Velo'v (Montreal has 3,000 bikes for a population of 1.6 million, Lyon has 3,000 bikes to 1.7 million residents).
Montreal’s initial numbers are promising: in its first seven weeks the Bike Sharing Blog reports 47,000 users and 220,000 trips.
- 47,000 users
- 220,000 trips
- 6,300 long term subscribers
- 4500 trips/day
This translates to about 2.6 trips per bike per day, much lower than Lyon's 8 trips per bike per day, but Montreal's new program will likely continue to attract new members exponentially over the next several months.
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How are cities paying for bike sharing?
Some cities have created bike sharing systems in exchange for the right to advertise in transit shelters and in the public right-of-way (Paris, Lyon, Washington DC). Each of these systems in operated by large companies that sell advertising on public street furniture and billboards: Clear Channel Outdoor and JC Decaux are two such companies.
The city of Barcelona raised driving fees (expanding paid parking areas) as a means of paying for its system. Minneapolis and other US cities are exploring a nonprofit business model that would facilitate tax-exempt corporate and private donations while keeping operating costs lean.
Minneapolis and Denver have both marshaled large grants that are being used to kick-start their bike sharing systems. Minneapolis is earmarking roughly $1.25 million of federal money as a federal bicycle and pedestrian demonstration city for bike sharing and Denver's mayor is doing the same with a $1 million gift from the Democratic Party for hosting the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
The advertising model is not a likely fit for Portland. Advertising not allowed in transit shelters in the downtown – the area which holds the highest revenue potential. Since the 1990s, the City of Portland has provided TriMet the sole right to sell advertising on public transit shelters in exchange for maintaining all shelters and benches in the public right-of-way.
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