Examining equity in accessibility to bike share: A balanced floating catchment area approach

Abstract

Public bicycle share programs (PBSPs) can play a role in advancing transportation equity if they make bicycling more accessible to disadvantaged populations. In Ontario, Hamilton Bike Share expanded their program in 2018 by adding twelve “equity” stations with the explicit objective of increasing access for under-serviced neighborhoods. In this case study, we investigate differentials in accessibility to stations using a balanced floating catchment area approach and compare accessibility with and without the equity stations. We analyze population interpolated to small cells to better reflect walking to a station and conduct a sensitivity analysis at several walking time thresholds. We then reaggregate the estimated accessibility by income groups for further analysis. Our findings indicate that equity stations increased accessibility for the serviced population at every threshold examined, but the increase was relatively modest especially for population in the bottom 20% of median total household income. • Balanced floating catchment area method applied to measure accessibility to bike share. • Contribution of stations added to increase equity assessed at different thresholds. • Added stations increased accessibility and reduced inequities, albeit only modestly. • Lowest income group has low levels of accessibility, even with “equity” stations. • Location and size of docking stations matters for increasing equity in accessibility.