From bicycle sharing system movements to users: a typology of Vélo’v cyclists in Lyon based on large-scale behavioural dataset

Abstract

Vélo’v have been available in Lyon, France, since 2005, and are one of the first major public bicycle sharing systems (BSS) implemented in Europe. With up to 7million trips in 2013 and around 50,000 annual users plus occasional users, Vélo’v have increased bicycle use in the city by 50%. Analysing a database gathering both bicycle movement and user data for the calendar year 2011 provided by the operator, we concentrate our analysis on Vélo’v users. We characterise user mobilities and produce a user typology based on cluster analysis, relying on intensity and on annual and weekly temporal patterns. The proposed analysis, which creates user profiles from patterns, contributes to a close-reading of the interplay between BSS and other transports as well as to an improved understanding of conditions leading to a wider use of bicycles in cities.