Typology of Bikeshare Users Combining Bikeshare and Transit

Abstract

This study proposes a methodological framework to understand the behavior of bikeshare-metro-bikeshare (BMB) users and assess the complementarity of bikeshare and transit. This analysis was conducted using Montreal’s Bixi bikeshare data collected over an 8-year period. A k-medoid clustering analysis was performed using three variables describing users’ travel behavior: BMB rate, most frequent BMB trip share, and rate of use of different metro stations. It reveals six groups of BMB users: (1) regular commuters, (2) irregular commuters, (3) occasional commuters, (4) mixed users, (5) leisure users, and (6) utility users. Each group’s share of trips is stable over time. BMB users represent an increasing, yet still marginal, share of 1.8% of Bixi’s annual members. The bikeshare segments of BMB trips averaged 1,180 m, with a standard deviation of 830 m. This confirms bikeshare is useful to complete the first and last kilometer of transit trips. Moreover, BMB trips increased with the expansion of Montreal’s bikeshare network to suburban areas serviced by the metro. This study concludes that bikeshare-metro integration allows bikeshare users to cover greater distances and can thus increase both systems’ ridership.