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How Dockless Bike-Sharing Changes Lives: an Analysis of Chinese Cities

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How Dockless Bike-Sharing Changes Lives: an Analysis of Chinese Cities HOW DOCKLESS BIKE-SHARING CHANGES LIVES: AN ANALYSIS OF CHINESE CITIES HUI JIANG SU SONG XUAN ZOU LU LU WRI.ORG.CN How Dockless Bike-Sharing Changes Lives: An Analysis of Chinese Cities 1 Design and Layout by: Harry Zhang [email protected] 2 WRI.org.cn TABLE OF CONTENTS III Foreword V Executive Summary 1 Chapter 1 Introduction 2 Background 3 Research Purpose 3 Structure of the Report 5 Chapter 2 Methodologies and Data 6 Research Methods Outline 6 Survey Design and Sampling 10 Methods of Impact Assessment 17 Chapter 3 Impacts on Travel Behavior 18 Frequency, Distance, and Duration 19 Travel Purpose 20 Last-Mile Connection 20 Travel Modes Replaced by DBS 21 Why Travel by DBS 22 Travel Behavior Changed 25 Chapter 4 Impacts on Health, Carbon, and Safety 26 Health Impacts 30 Carbon Reduction 30 Road Crash Risk 33 Chapter 5 Regulation Review and Implication 34 Challenges and Policy Background 38 Fleet Size Control 41 Parking Management 43 Cycling Infrastructure Improvement 47 Chapter 6 Conclusions 48 Findings and Highlights 49 Strengths and Limitations 50 Future Studies 52 Appendix A: Questionnaire 54 Appendix B: Shared Bikes Regulations 58 Endnotes 59 Glossary 60 References 68 Acknowledgments How Dockless Bike-Sharing Changes Lives: An Analysis of Chinese Cities I II WRI.org.cn FOREWORD Dockless bike-sharing (DBS) is one of the most At the time of this report’s publication, severe popular shared transport systems to impact acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS- people’s lives in recent years. Since its rapid CoV-2) continues to spread globally, causing proliferation on city streets across the globe in more than 11.63 million cases and 538,529 deaths1 2016, DBS companies have had a tumultuous (JHU July 7, 2020). Admittedly, SARS-CoV-2 journey navigating, on the one hand, an explosion has changed the global landscape forever, and its in demand, and on the other, significant regulatory impact on urban life will be long-lasting. During hurdles and negative perceptions. As many of these the peak of the crisis, bicycles served as one of the companies enter their fifth year of operations, their few resilient and safe ways in which citizens could global footprint has decreased, but their relevance move around for essential needs. As cities begin to in Asian cities has grown. As of 2019, DBS systems reopen and social connection recovers, transport supported millions of short trips and connections culture might shift from centralized motorized to public transit in over 360 Chinese cities. The modes to distributed customized solutions. And shift to low-emission modes and increased physical while Beijing has seen a 150 percent increase in activity of DBS users are the most significant co- use of bike-sharing systems (Xinhua News 2020),2 benefits of the system. However, these systems can it is unclear whether cycling and walking will also pose challenges to the management of public become a new normal of daily travel or whether space if regulations are not based on assessments of the increase is just a temporary response to the their impact, and if they are not well integrated into pandemic. The answer will lie in the shift in public the transport ecosystem. mindsets, good built-environments and urban management, and responsible and financially By studying DBS systems in 12 Chinese cities, healthy operators. this report offers concrete evidence of how DBS changes people’s daily lives and points to an DBS systems must be welcomed as an effective emerging philosophy of urban management mechanism for cities looking to rebuild their and the role of the public and private sectors in economies, ensure public health, and reduce ensuring sustainable and equitable outcomes their emissions. While circumstances may through transport services. The authors differ, stories and lessons from Chinese cities investigated how the system changes people’s can provide insights and good practice for cities travel behavior, assessed the benefits or risks on elsewhere on how to build a cycling culture and public health, carbon emissions, and road safety, encourage bike-sharing. Scaling up the bike- and showcased good management practices. The sharing culture with innovative solutions also authors also recommend that cities should improve requires collaborations among networks of global DBS management by setting up key performance and local communities. That is what the World indicators for operators, clarifying rules for parking Resources Institute (WRI) and the New Urban management, providing safer cycling facilities, and Mobility (NUMO) alliance are doing now for encouraging standardized technologies. cities around the world. Daizong Liu Jyot Chadha Director, WRI China Sustainable Cities Program Senior Manager, Alliance and Partnerships Communication Director, WRI China NUMO alliance How Dockless Bike-Sharing Changes Lives: An Analysis of Chinese Cities III IV WRI.org.cn EXECUTIVE SUMMARY HIGHLIGHTS Dockless bike-sharing (DBS) systems have expanded rapidly in China since 2016. ▪ By the end of 2019, they had served over 360 Chinese cities. As the alternative mode of short-distance travel that also connects to public transit, the systems bring convenience and meet citizens’ travel demands. This report aims to investigate how DBS changes people’s travel behavior and ▪ assesses its impacts on public health, carbon emissions, road safety, and urban management in 12 Chinese cities. The impact assessment findings show that people can obtain more health ▪ benefits and emit less carbon emissions by using DBS over motorized travel. Yet, DBS users, like other cyclists, are vulnerable compared with those using motorized vehicles. This report also reviews DBS policies, and showcases good practices in the 12 study cities ▪ that could provide useful references for other cities intending to adopt DBS systems. To better regulate the DBS as a short-distance travel mode, cities could improve DBS ▪ management by introducing innovative policies and measures, such as setting up key performance indicators (KPIs) for operators, clarifying rules for parking management, providing safer cycling facilities, and encouraging standardized technologies. How Dockless Bike-Sharing Changes Lives: An Analysis of Chinese Cities V Background oversaturated market resulted in increases in fleet sizes, vandalism, clutter, and curbing pedestrian There is a boom in dockless bike-sharing space. Those challenges created debates while (DBS) systems in world cities. As an introducing DBS into cities. In addition, there is alternative and innovative trip mode, DBS systems a lack of nationwide research and analysis on the have been implemented in hundreds of cities impacts of dockless shared bikes on travel behavior around the world. Since 2016, DBS has expanded change, public health, carbon emissions, road rapidly in China, which is the largest global market safety, and the urban environment. of DBS. The number of DBS bikes in China was estimated at 23 million in 2017, operating in over 200 Chinese cities (CAICT 2019; State Information About This Report Center 2018). Although the fleet dropped to 19.5 This report assesses multiple impacts of million in late 2019, the DBS service had expanded DBS (specifically, fully human-powered operations to over 360 Chinese cities. Users can bikes) on Chinese cities, investigates cities’ use mobile phones to locate, unlock, and use regulatory responses, and identifies best bikes with convenience. The added accessibility practices on DBS systems management. The has fulfilled huge travel demand in cities, and implications could be a useful reference for cities has been a factor in shifting the paradigm away introducing DBS systems. The report answers from personal car ownership and toward an three major questions: urban mobility characterized by a more integrated seamless transport system. Question 1: Has DBS changed people’s travel ▪ behavior? If so, how has it shifted people from Benefits and issues. DBS has rapidly changed the other transport modes? transport ecosystem in pursuit of the development of a personal and convenient commute—typically Question 2: What are the health, carbon, and catering to first/last-mile connectivity. However, the ▪ safety impacts (positive and negative) of DBS? VI WRI.org.cn Question 3: What can cities learn to improve the city’s relevant investment decisions or ▪ DBS regulations? adopt the recommended regulations to better manage the DBS fleet, parking, and facilities, Multiple methods applied to assess the promoting more sustainable modes of transport impacts of DBS. To answer the questions and maintaining urban built-environments. The above, we combined the DBS user experience general public can maximize the health benefits survey with a large amount of literature by adjusting their cycling duration and intensity review. We conducted the DBS survey in 12 based on the recommendations. Finally, Chinese cities, encompassing 8,218 valid academic communities can use the results to responses. For the DBS impact assessment, we enrich existing studies and comparative findings adopted methodologies such as health impact from across the globe. assessment, carbon inventory estimation, and road safety assessment from a wide range of DBS Impacts global literature. We have also reviewed over 60 This report investigates how DBS has impacted relevant Chinese regulations and case studies cities after the service was introduced. It provides to support our discussion of policy implications the quantitative impacts of DBS in 12 Chinese and the
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