Bicycle Sharing

Abstract

Bicycle sharing is an automated short-term rental or membership service allowing shared access to a third-party owned fleet of bicycles for one-way trips between stations or within geofenced service areas. A concept defined in the 60s, their presence has become common in medium and large urban cores, particularly in Europe, the United States, and Eastern China. Growth has been facilitated by technological and market innovation providing automated self-service, through the association of users to bicycles, as well as the capital to promote and develop the schemes. While bicycle sharing is accepted as convenient and facilitating first and last-mile transportation, overstated or contradictory impacts relating to equity, health, environmental sustainability, road congestion, and success exist. Who benefits directly and indirectly from bicycle sharing use and the utilizing of public space and funding, for what purpose, challenges many of the promoted benefits and claims of success.