Abstract
Globally, bike share schemes are an element of a rapidly changing urban transport landscape. Whilst many docked schemes are now embedded in cities around the world, the recent explosion of dockless systems provides an opportunity to evaluate claims that this form of shared mobility has the potential to alleviate common barriers to cycling, relieve congestion, boost low carbon travel, get people active, and reduce social exclusion. Drawing on a mixed methods study of 2270 online survey respondents and 27 interviews, all living in, working in or visiting Greater Manchester during a trial of dockless bike share, we explore the ways in which the technological, spatial and practical configuration of bike share schemes relate to a city's infrastructure and existing cycling practices. We question assertions that bike share provision necessarily results in increased rates of cycling and enhanced social inclusion.By using a capabilities approach and utlilising the concept of ‘conversion factors’ to describe the differing capacities or opportunities that people have to convert resources at their disposal into ‘capabilities’ or ‘functionings’, we show how the practice of bike sharing can influence a population's propensity to cycle, as well as how bike share interacts with established barriers to cycling. We find that many established barriers to cycling remain relevant, especially environmental factors, and that bike share creates its own additional challenges.We conclude that bike share operators must recognise the role of personal and social conversion factors more explicitly and be sensitive to the social and physical geography of cities, rather than assuming that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is adequate. To do this they should engage more closely with existing bodies, including transport authorities and local authorities, in co-creating bike share systems. Using the capabilities approach enables us to identify ways in which it could be made relevant and accessible to a more diverse population.
Highlights
Whereby bikes are rented for one-way trips or within designated areas (Médard de Chardon, 2019), are increasingly evident in towns and cities worldwide
The geographical expansion of bike share has been underpinned by the technological development of an idea proven in London, Paris and other cities since 2007 (Médard de Chardon, 2019)
We address concerns about environmental and social benefits (Médard de Chardon, 2019), including putting into context assertions that bike share provision necessarily results in increased rates of cycling and enhanced social inclusion
Summary
Whereby bikes are rented for one-way trips or within designated areas (Médard de Chardon, 2019), are increasingly evident in towns and cities worldwide. In 2017 Mobike chose Manchester to be their 100th city, and the first outside Asia, to host their dockless service (Mobike, 2017) The arrival of their first-generation bikes in Greater Manchester in 2017 (Pidd and Lavelle, 2017) marked the beginning of a wave of dockless bike share schemes in Europe, North America and Australia, much as the company's departure in the autumn of the following year (Pidd, 2018) appeared symptomatic of receding global enthusiasm for the technology (McIntyre and Kollewe, 2019). We add to the nascent literature that is demonstrating the utility of this theoretical framework in relation to mobility and sustainable practices
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