Does large scale free-floating bike sharing really improve the sustainability of urban transportation? Empirical evidence from Beijing

Abstract

Free-floating bike sharing (FFBS) is clearly becoming a global phenomenon. However, the actual environmental impact of FFBS remain controversial. Using life cycle assessment (LCA) and bottom-up method, this study quantitatively estimates the impact of Beijing large scale FFBS program on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation system based on the real-world transportation big data. The results show that FFBS can obtain desirable environmental benefits, but the premise is reasonable and effective market supervision. In the period of explosive growth (2017∼2018), due to oversupply and short service life of the shared bike, FFBS has become the transportation mode with the highest GHG emission-intensity. Compared with before the advent of FFBS (i.e., 2016), the total GHG emissions and per capita GHG emissions increased by about 0.33 million tons CO2-eq and 25.63 kg CO2-eq respectively. Subsequently, in the orderly development stage, the operational efficiency of FFBS has been significantly improved under the supervision and governance. The total GHG emissions and per capita GHG emissions in 2019 decreased by about 0.33∼0.41 million tons CO2-eq and about 11.58∼15.85 kg CO2-eq respectively, compared with 2016. This study helps to better understand the environment impact of FFBS and constitutes a valuable reference for improving urban transportation sustainability.