Electric bike-sharing services mode substitution for driving, public transit, and cycling

Abstract

In hopes of reducing traffic congestion, air and noise pollution, and energy consumption, bike sharing is becoming increasingly popular around the world. Underlying many of the benefits attributed to bike sharing is an assumption that bike share journeys replace a significant proportion of trips previously made by car. This paper examines factors correlated with the use of an electric bike-sharing system in Tricity, Poland. We use the double hurdle estimation approach on data from two matched surveys: before and after the implementation of the system. Our analyses indicate that electric bike rides did not act as a substitute for car trips. Shared e-bikes were used by residents as a substitute for public transportation or as a first/last mile of transport to/from public transportation stops. We examined the use of e-bikes for various types of trips and identified factors encouraging and discouraging people from usage of bike-sharing and cycling in general.