Bike share evolution: impacts on your city

Advancements in shared economy and technology are changing modern bike share as we know it. Dockless bike share operators such as LimeBike, MoBike, Ofo, Spin, and Jump have entered the U.S. market and are rapidly expanding to new cities throughout the country.  

In many cases funded by venture capital, these companies can introduce bike share systems at no cost to municipalities, when compared to traditional docked systems, and can quickly mobilize in new locations with short notice. While most existing dockless bike share operators offer traditional bikes, the product offering has evolved recently to include electric bikes and low-speed electric scooters, which will greatly expand the range of options for commuters, especially supporting first/last mile connections.

The dockless model offers many advantages such as no physical infrastructure costs of stations associated with docked systems, improved access through mobile apps, and significantly larger fleets resulting in more, easier to access bikes. Alternatively, it presents new challenges such as less municipal control over where riders return bikes, more bikes than available bike parking, more difficulty ensuring safety and maintenance standards, and less ownership and access to valuable user data. As dockless bike share continues to expand and innovate at a rapid pace, cities are left with finding a solution to balance the pros and cons of this new bike share model.

Cities must not only embrace change but prepare to guide and regulate it in a manner that serves the public’s interest while encouraging, not stifling, innovation. As dockless bike share and other emerging technologies disrupt existing transportation models, cities need to account for industry advancements in their short- and long-term strategic planning. While operators continue to improve the delivery of their services, cities should be prioritizing clear and streamlined regulations, assertive data-sharing requirements to support transportation planning, and urban design that incorporates flexible spaces for bike parking.

Steer has worked worldwide with bike share operators and municipalities on a variety of projects ranging from strategic planning to demand analyses and evaluation since 2008, including most recently with Ride On in Miami-Dade County, Florida and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) in California.

Written by Jenny Hong