Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority
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Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bike Share Equity Study A Project Presented to the Faculty of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master In Urban and Regional Planning By Cole Z. Iwamasa 2019 SIGNATURE PAGE PROJECT: LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY BIKE SHARE EQUITY STUDY AUTHOR: Cole Z. Iwamasa DATE SUBMITTED: Spring 2019 Department of Urban and Regional Planning Dr. Gwendolyn H. Urey Project Committee Chair Urban and Regional Planning Dr. Alvaro Huerta Urban and Regional Planning Carolyn Mamaradlo Transportation Planning Manager Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority ii ABSTRACT Since the inception of bike share in 2010, the number of public bike share systems has rapidly increased across the United States (Howland et al., 2017). However, low- income and minority communities have experienced significant barriers to bike sharing, which has been reflected in their low usage rates compared to white populations (Broach, 2017). The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) Bike Share Equity Study seeks to identify policies, best practices, and operation strategies that LA Metro may follow to create a bike share program that is equitable for low-income and minority communities. Through the composition and compilation of a literature review of academic research, case studies of existing bike share systems, and strengths-weaknesses- opportunities-threats (SWOT) analysis of the LA Metro Bike Share program (Metro Bike Share), a set of recommendations were determined to enhance the equitability of Metro Bike Share. The recommendations derive from six themes of bike share equity that were identified in the study, which include: equity-oriented organizational structure and policies, financial access, spatial access, technological access, education and outreach, and local partnerships. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS SIGNATURE PAGE ......................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1 ...................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2 ...................................................................................................................... 4 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................. 4 CHAPTER 3 ...................................................................................................................... 7 WHAT IS BIKE SHARE? .................................................................................................. 7 WHAT IS EQUITY? ........................................................................................................ 10 CHAPTER 4 .................................................................................................................... 12 METRO BIKE SHARE OVERVIEW .............................................................................. 12 VISION ............................................................................................................................. 12 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 12 REGIONAL BIKE SHARE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ............................................. 18 METRO BIKE SHARE BUSINESS PLAN FISCAL YEAR 2019-2020 ........................ 23 DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES BIKE AMBASSADORS PROJECT ........................... 26 iv STRENGTHS-WEAKNESSES-OPPORTUNITIES-THREATS ANALYSIS ............... 27 CHAPTER 5 .................................................................................................................... 30 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 30 DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY BARRIERS ......................................................... 30 EQUITY AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL .......................................................... 30 EQUITY AT THE OPERATIONS LEVEL ..................................................................... 31 CHAPTER 6 .................................................................................................................... 34 CASE STUDIES ............................................................................................................... 34 CHICAGO – DIVVY FOR EVERYONE ........................................................................ 34 MISSION STATEMENT ......................................................................................... 34 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................. 35 EQUITY-BASED POLICIES ................................................................................... 36 EQUITY-BASED OPERATIONS STRATEGIES .................................................. 37 PHILADELPHIA – INDEGO30 ACCESS ...................................................................... 38 MISSION STATEMENT ......................................................................................... 38 VISION ..................................................................................................................... 38 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................. 39 EQUITY-BASED POLICIES ................................................................................... 40 EQUITY-BASED OPERATIONS STRATEGIES .................................................. 42 NEW YORK CITY – CITI BIKE ..................................................................................... 44 v OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................. 44 EQUITY BASED POLICIES ................................................................................... 48 EQUITY-BASED OPERATIONS STRATEGIES .................................................. 51 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA – FORD GOBIKE ....................................................... 53 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................. 53 EQUITY-BASED POLICIES ................................................................................... 54 EQUITY-BASED OPERATIONS STRATEGIES .................................................. 56 CHAPTER 7 .................................................................................................................... 63 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS..................................................................... 63 EQUITY-BASED POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................... 64 EQUITY-BASED OPERATIONS STRATEGIES .......................................................... 71 CHAPTER 8 .................................................................................................................... 75 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 75 AUTHOR’S NOTE ........................................................................................................... 79 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 80 APPENDIX A .................................................................................................................. 88 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ................................................................................ 88 RECREATION PROGRAMS ........................................................................................ 115 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Sociodemographic Data for the Case Study Cities (Source: US Census, DP05 ACS (2013-2017) 5 Year Estimates) .................................................................................. 6 Table 2. Metro Bike Share Expansion Plan 2016-2020 (Source: Haydu and Benjamin, 2018) ................................................................................................................................. 15 Table 3. Metro Bike Share Goals (Source: LA Metro, 2015) ........................................... 18 Table 4. Metro Bike Share Performance Metrics (Source: LA Metro, 2018) .................. 25 Table 5. Case Study Overview.......................................................................................... 59 Table 6. Metro Bike Share Phase IV and V Expansion Plans (Source: Haydu and Benjamin, 2018) ................................................................................................................ 64 Table 7. Community Organizations Throughout Los Angeles County (Source: City of Los Angeles, Open Data Portal) ....................................................................................... 88 Table 8. Recreation Programs Throughout Los Angeles County (Source: City of Los Angeles, Open Data Portal) ...........................................................................................