Externalities of dockless bicycle-sharing systems: Implications for green recovery of the transportation sector

Abstract

As an innovative and convenient micro-mobility service, dockless bicycle-sharing systems (DBSSs) are essential to achieving green recovery of the transportation sector in post-COVID-19 world. DBSS green externalities on climate change have attracted the attention of scholars and have revealed different roles in carbon mitigation in different studies. In this study, Shanghai is employed as a case city to analyze DBSS green externalities. The direct carbon emissions reduced by DBSS cycling are calculated and the indirect carbon mitigation by a DBSS in promoting use of low-carbon public transport is estimated. The carbon consumption of DBSS from the perspective of life-cycle assessment is also valued. The results show that DBSSs have much greater carbon mitigation potential in promoting the use of low-carbon public transport than do cycling routes. The production, maintenance, and rebalance of DBSSs may produce a large number of carbon emissions and even offset their green benefits. The application of (electric) e-bikes and the integration of DBSSs and public transportation should be the key issue for policy makers to promote the green recovery of the transport sector. This study calls for further studies to demonstrate the green externality of DBSSs based on the detailed operation dataset.