Lessons from the Experiences of Korea's Public Bicycle Systems
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Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011 Lessons from the Experiences of Korea’s Public Bicycle Systems Lee, Jaeyeong Choi, Keechoo Research Fellow Professor Urban & Transportation Division Transportation System Engineering Daejeon Development Institute Ajou University 160-20, Wolpyeong-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon Paldalgwan 208ho, San 5, Wonchun-dong, Metropolitan City, Korea Youngtong-gu, Suwon City, Korea Fax: +82-42-530-3556 Fax: + E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Park, Jinhee Park, Wooseok Associate Professor Researcher Logistics System Engineering Urban & Transportation Division Korea Maritime University Daejeon Development Institute 451ho, Engineering college building 160-20, Wolpyeong-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon No.1,727, Taejongro, Youngdo-gu, Busan Metropolitan City, Korea Metropolitan City, Korea Fax: +82-42-530-3541 Fax: +82-51-405-8822 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Korea’s public bicycle systems (PBS) represent one of the main bicycle policies in the country since they were first introduced in 2008. Today, a number of cities are considering and planning a PBS as a measure to promote bicycle use. City governors believe that a PBS provides an effective substitute for the large number of short-distance trips made by cars in urban areas, so they are trying to increase bicycle share by using a PBS. On the other hand, the cost of construction and operation is very expensive compared to the purchase of private bicycles. Also, there have been no reports of any PBS being operated without subsidies from city governments. Most of all, there is hardly any comparison analysis knowledge about the results of the PBS operation results or the characteristics of PBS uses in three main Korean cities: Changwon, Goyang, and Daejeon. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the current PBS being used by the three main bicycle cities in Korea, and to seek some lessons from the characteristics and experiences of those cities since 2008. The results show that a feasibility study is necessary to decide the optimum operation model based on funding size, demand, and infrastructure. Furthermore, such study should consider the characteristics of PBS users. Key Words: Public Bicycle System, Operation, Aggregated data, Characteristics of users, Lessons 1. INTRODUCTION In 1998, a public bicycle system (PBS) was initiated by Clear Channel in Rennes, France, providing people there with access to 200 bicycles. Today, there are more than 130 cities with some form of PBS, which has emerged in the past three years as a viable new form of public transport for urban trips. Today's PBS is different from the free bike initiatives of the 1960's which included the “white bikes” of Amsterdam and the “free rental bikes” of several Korean cities. Most of those free rental bikes were eventually vandalized or stolen, because return of Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011 the bikes relied solely on the conscience of the citizens. However, new technologies such as electronic payment, GIS tracking, and locking systems have helped promote public bicycle use by reducing the likelihood of crime and improving the management. Today, a typical public bike system consists of: a fleet of newly designed unique bicycles; a network of stations where the bikes can be locked when not in use; kiosks to borrow and return the bikes; a user registration and management program; a system status information system; and a bike redistribution mechanism. Korea’s first PBS began in 2008 with 430 bicycles and 20 stations in the city of Changwon. In 2009, Daejeon opened its PBS with 200 bicycles, and Goyang followed in 2010 with 1,600 bicycles. Currently, more than 20 other Korean cities are planning to set up this system. Because city governors believe that a PBS provides an effective substitute for the large number of short-distance trips made by cars in urban area, they are attempting to use a PBS to increase bicycle share. Also, a PBS helps to promote public transport through multi-modality, contribute to positive urban changes, and green activities. Furthermore, a PBS can shift people’s thinking about the use or allocation of road space (Quay Communications Inc, 2008). However, a few success stories do not guarantee that a PBS is a good system for every city. The effects of a PBS depend greatly on the particular characteristics of a city, including the technical composition of the PBS system, the regional geography of the city, the other available forms of public transport, the rate of car ownership, the citizens’ familiarity with bicycles, and their overall social attitude. Most importantly, the cost of constructing and operating a PBS is extremely expensive compared to the purchase of private bicycles. There have been no reports of any PBS being operated without subsidies from the city government. Finally, there is hardly any knowledge about the results of the operation of the PBS or the characteristics of PBS users in the three main Korean cities, Changwon, Goyang, and Daejeon. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the current PBS of these three major bicycle cities in Korea, and to seek some lessons from those cities’ characteristics and their PBS experiences since 2008. 2. What is a Public Bicycle System? A public bicycle system is any system that allows for free public rental of bicycles. Today’s systems are different from past bicycle rental systems, as they have adopted new technologies such as electric payments, GIS-tracking, auto locking, and staff-free operation with automated self-serve systems for taking and returning the bicycles. Also, PBS’s are open to all citizens and operate 24/7, year-round. Stations are situated in public spaces with an average 300m walking distance between stations. The cost is basically very low, and almost free for short periods, thus increasing the turnover rate. Figure 1 shows the hierarchy among transport modes in urban transport. In this hierarchy, a PBS is situated between public transport and private transport, because the bicycles are available for all citizens but they are primarily used for the purpose of individual trips. There are some differences between a PBS and rental bicycles. Most importantly, public bicycles can be taken from one station and returned to a different station that is nearest to the rider’s destination. Also, the procedure of renting and returning a bicycle is remarkably fast and convenient, using a simple touch screen. Advanced technology is used to track the route of the user and the reallocation of bicycles. From the view of urban transport, a PBS provides an effective substitute for short automobile trips which create much of the congestion on urban arterials and contribute disproportionately to urban air pollution. Even in Europe, cars Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011 are still used for 30% of trips less than 2km (ECMT, 2004) Source : Quay Communication Inc(2008) Figure 1 Role of PBS in urban transportation Other reasons why a PBS is a good idea include; 1. Positive customer satisfaction numbers from existing systems 2. Subscription rate (Paris - 15% residents) 3. Increased mobility choice 4. Promote multi-modal trips 5. Improves livability of a city 6. Shifts thinking about the use or allocation of road space 7. Increases the number of social interactions 8. Increases private bicycle use However, on the other side of the argument, there are some important problems with a PBS. First, the basic expense of constructing and operating a PBS is very high, costing an average of 4 ~ 6 million₩ per bicycle, as opposed to the low public cost of private bicycles. Second, it is difficult to find a good business model to help fill in the operation deficit. There are more than 130 cities with some form of PBS in operation, including seven Korean cities, but the majority of these are small, with less than 100 bicycles. Table 1 shows the major worldwide cities which have a PBS of 300 bicycles or more. Table 1 Public Bicycle Systems with more than 300 bicycles Registration and Start No of No of Cities Name of PBS Operator payment system year bicycles stations Munich Call a bike DB Rent Mobile 2000 2,000 Flex. Holland OV-fiets NS Mannde 2002 Flex. 225 Berlin Call a bike DB Rent Mbile 2002 2,000 ? Oslo Oslo Bysykkel Clear Channel Card 2002 1,200 100 Vienna City Bike Gevista Mobile 2003 600 49 Lyon Velo’v JCDecaux Card 2005 4,000 350 Stockholm City Bikes Clear Channel Card 2006 500 40 Cartagena BiCity Manual 2006 300 5 Stuttgart Call a bike fix DB Rent Mobile 2007 400 40 Barcelona Bicing Clear Channel Card 2007 6,000 400 Paris Velib JCDecaux Card 2007 20,600 1,451 Seville Sevici JCDecaux Card 2007 1,500 150 Public Bike Montreal BiXi Card 2008 3,000 300 System Company Changwon NUBIZA Changwon city Card 2008 3,300 163 Koyang FIFTEEN ECO-BIKE Card 2009 3,000 125 Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011 3. Bicycle use and status of PBS in Korea 3.1 Bicycle use and national policies in Korea Among industrialized nations, Korea has a low level of bicycle use. According to the 2005 Korean census, about 1.2% of all journeys that year were made by bicycle. Several cities, however, show higher levels of bicycle ridership, with some reporting an almost 12% bicycle share of trips. Table 2 shows the latest bicycle ridership data including the three main PBS cities in Korea. Country bicycle share was extracted from the 2005 census and the others were estimated based on the person trip survey performed by Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime affairs in each shown year.