April 30, 2014 Bicycle Sharing in the U.S.A. – State of the Art (Session 3A) By: Robert Kahn, P.E. RK Engineering Group, Inc. Introduction Bike Sharing in the United States (U.S.A) has been on the rise for the last several years. In September 2012, I published an article in the ITE Journal that summarized the latest status of Bike Sharing in the U.S.A. At that time, there were less than 20 programs, but since that time, the number of programs has more than doubled. Bike sharing programs are expanding in the east, mid-west and western portions of the U.S.A at an astounding rate and more are planned in the near future. I first got interested in Bike Sharing in the Fall of 2007, when I visited Paris, France, and I was introduced to the Vélib' Bicycle Sharing System. At that time, the Vélib' program included approximately 10,000 bicycles with 750 docking stations. Since then, it has expanded to include over 20,000 bicycles with 1,451 docking stations covering the entire City of Paris. Bike Sharing is a short-term bicycle rental system that allows users to make relatively short trips of 30 minutes to an hour, instead of using other modes of transportation (i.e. auto, public transit, taxicab, walking, etc.). Bicycle sharing is not geared towards longer distance recreational trips and generally serves local trips to work, shopping, and nearby destinations. In an April 2008 article published by WesternITE – a publication of the Western District of the Institute of Transportation Engineers – I provided a detailed discussion of the Vélib' program. At that time, a limited number of bicycle sharing programs were available in the U.S.A.; but numerous cities were contemplating their use in the future. Many cities, including Washington, D.C., wanted to implement similar systems in their communities to help promote the use of bicycling as an alternative mode of short-term transportation to replace automobiles, public transportation, taxis, and walking. Between 2007 and 2014, bicycle sharing in the U.S.A has expanded substantially in many cities and universities throughout the country. The growth of existing and planned Bike Sharing programs in the U.S.A has grown exponentially over the past seven years. A summary of the number of Bike Sharing programs over the past seven years is shown in Exhibit A. As can be seen by Exhibit A, bike sharing has increased every year, especially between 2010 to 2014. The purpose of this paper is to document some of the current and proposed bike sharing programs that are being implemented throughout the U.S.A. This discussion is primarily limited to local public agencies; however, numerous university programs are in operation and are successfully used by students and staff in lieu of other transportation modes. Most systems in the U.S.A. are currently being run and operated by private companies who provide the physical hardware, bicycle monitoring systems, docking stations, maintenance, and operation administration, and in exchange they collect a portion of the fees collected through subscriber usage of the bicycle sharing systems. Some financial return to the local agencies is also provided on a case-by-case basis. Currently, there are at least 45 American Bike Sharing programs in operation (including those which will be implemented within Year 2014). A summary of these bicycle sharing programs has been obtained through a survey and is shown in Table 1. In addition, there are numerous university systems in operation, including Kent State University, Ohio; Oakland University, Michigan; University of California, Irvine; University of Mississippi; University of Tennessee; and Washington State University. The advantage of the university bicycle sharing systems is that the travel areas where the bicycles are used are relatively small, so trip lengths are usually shorter than within an entire city. Also, students are accustomed to riding bicycles and have fewer automobiles available to them. The RK:dt/RK10408.doc 2 JN:0000-2014-03 universities are implementing their own programs for students with university staff which will serve local trips around the universities. Benefits of a Bicycle Sharing Program There are numerous benefits that occur as a result of a bicycle sharing program. An effective program will reduce dependency on automobiles and increase mobility to the public. This in turn will improve the environment, by reducing air emissions and Greenhouse Gases. This strategy is in keeping within current policies for sustainable communities and air quality regulations. Bicycle sharing programs also provide an affordable transportation alternative. Annual subscription fees and usage charges are low and are affordable to all economic sectors, which may not be able to afford other transportation alternatives, such as automobiles, public transit, or taxis. Bicycle sharing reduces the need for individual bike ownership thereby eliminating the need for individuals to purchase, maintain, and store personal bicycles. It also reduces potential theft of individually owned bicycles which can be a deterrent to bicycle use. By limiting automobile trips, especially in the downtown areas, a reduced parking demand can reduce the need for onsite and street parking. Successful Bicycle Sharing programs will improve air quality and reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions. This will reduce the number of automobile trips and VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) in a community, hence help meeting air quality goals. Bicycle sharing programs also have substantial health benefits to the public. A large portion of the American society is overweight and bike sharing programs provide the opportunity for increased physical activity throughout the day. The use of bicycle transportation also encourages walking to access to the bike sharing docking stations and once a destination is reached. RK:dt/RK10408.doc 3 JN:0000-2014-03 Reducing the use of automobiles also has benefits in minimizing traffic congestion, especially in high density areas, which currently have traffic capacity issues. Bike sharing programs also create new jobs to both provide the service and maintain the bicycle systems. Finally, the program introduces people to the use of bicycles who would not typically utilize bicycles as an alternate means of transportation. One of the major benefits of Bicycle Sharing is that it improves access to places where public transit cannot reach and acts as a distribution system for other forms of transportation. It will compliment public transit by giving additional opportunities to reach transit stations and bus stops which are out of reach by walking. Bicycle Sharing programs can also improve the image and popularity of bike riding by opening it up to more people who do not currently use bicycling as a means of transportation. Components of a Bike Sharing System There are four main components of a Bike Sharing System. The primary component is the Bikes themselves. These consist of heavy duty bikes with adjustable seats, fenders for protection from water on the road, chain guards, multiple gears to negotiate grades, baskets to carry items, heavy duty tires to resist flats and ideally a GPS tracking system to keep track of the bikes. A photo of the Chicago program’s bikes and docking stations is included in Exhibits B and C. The next major component is the docking station and individual docks. These are the location where the bikes are stored when not in use and are located throughout the Bike Sharing Network. A photo of the Nashville Tennessee docking station system is included in Exhibit D. They include locking devices to secure the bikes when not in use and in some cases can be electronically monitored to inventory the system. Typically they will include parking for about 10 to 20 bikes at one location and will usually have more docks than bikes to insure that there is always room for a bike to be parked at a docking station. RK:dt/RK10408.doc 4 JN:0000-2014-03 At each of the docking stations, there is a directory which is used to activate the locks at the docking station. It is electronically linked to the docking station and central control system to monitor bikes being used and to confirm a user is being properly charged for the use of the bike sharing system. It will accept the Bike Sharing system card or other type of credit card which is used to identify the user and make the proper charges to the users account. A photo of a Nashville Tennessee directory is shown in Exhibit E. There is also the need for a maintenance program for all of the bikes and system components. This includes vehicles to pick-up and distribute repaired bikes. They also monitor the various docking stations to review the condition of bikes and make the necessary adjustments to both bikes and docking stations. A central repair facility is needed in the event that repairs cannot be accomplished in the field. This facility needs to include spare bikes, parts, tires, etc. to keep the system running. Finally there is a need for a central control system to interface with all of the docking stations and bikes in the system. It monitors the charges for the use of the bikes and maintains an inventory of all of the bikes in the system. It is used to maintain the records of members in the system and use of the bikes and charges to all of the subscribers in the system. Operational Characteristics Table 1 provides a list of the bicycle sharing programs, year initiated, and available information on the number of bicycles / docking stations, bicycles per station, population/area served, and number of daily trips for each program. The number of bicycles currently in operation or planned varies tremendously between each of the programs.