Breaking Down the Barriers of Bike Shares: An examination of Bike Share Operations

Background: Bike shares have been shown to increase physical activity among users by replacing sedentary modes of travel. The purpose of this study was to examine factors affecting the operation of bike share systems. Methods: Representatives from bike shares around the world were recruited to participate in an online survey. Questions addressed efforts reach to different populations (e.g. women, older adults), programs targeting these populations, goals of the bike share, perceived barriers/motivators of residents and visitors of bike share communities and basic information about the bike share. Results: Respondents (n=23) were predominately from the USA (n=20) and reported their bike shares had 73.2 ±85.1 stations and 591.2 ±777.2 bikes. Bike shares revealed low reach among minorities and those of lower income. The most common type of programming for low income and miorities was was free or discounted annual memberships (n=9, 39.1%). Popular short-term goals of the bike shares include, increasing users (n=17, 73.9%), increasing trips (n=15, 65.2%) and improving marketing/communications (n=14, 60.9%). The top perceived barrier cited to be the easiest targeted for change was awareness of the bike share. The top motivator was ease of access to stations. These findings may assist bike shares increase ridership and reach, facilitating in the primary goal of increasing rates of active travel among all populations.