Understanding the determinants of bike-sharing demand in the context of a medium-sized car-oriented city: The case study of Milton Keynes, UK

Abstract

Emerging modes of shared mobility like bike-sharing may significantly contribute to increasing the share of sustainable travel in medium- and small-sized cities. However, research exploring the bike-sharing usage determinants specifically for them has been severely underrepresented in the literature. To address this gap, we conducted an analysis of bike-sharing rentals for over a one-year period in Milton Keynes, a medium-sized city of 288,000 residents. Being the largest of the planned settlements built under the UK government “New Towns” programme, Milton Keynes despite having the infrastructure to offer opportunities for modal shift has been repeatedly characterised as a car-centric city. The paper examines temporal variation by comparing the average number of bike rentals in different seasons and months. Analysis of peak rentals and travel directions suggests that throughout the year bikes are mainly used to travel to work. By contrast, recreational travel appears to happen mostly during the summer months. Regression analysis shows that the number of public transport stops, offices and schools are associated with a higher number of bike rentals, supporting the view that utilitarian travel is the main usage pattern. Our research also highlights the bike-sharing's potential to be adopted as a first/last-mile option that will complement and support public transit.