How Bike-Sharing Affects the Accessibility Equity of Public Transit Systems—Evidence from Nanjing

Abstract

This study examines how Free-Floating Bike-Sharing (FFBS) affects the accessibility equity of public transit sytems by serving as a first-mile feeder. To evaluate accessibility improvements for various opportunities within a 30-min travel time, we construct a complete travel chain approach based on multi-source, real-world data from Nanjing, China. The results indicate that FFBS significantly enhances accessibility, particularly for job opportunities and green spaces, with improvements of up to 180.02% and 155.82%, respectively. This integration also enhances the accessibility equity of public transit systems, particularly in green spaces, with a Gini coefficient improvement of 0.0336. Additionally, we find that areas with low housing prices exhibit greater accessibility inequality, while those with moderate housing prices benefit more from FFBS integration. These findings can potentially support transport planners in optimizing and managing FFBS and public transit systems to facilitate sustainable and inclusive transportation networks.