Bike Lending in North America: Understanding Business Models, User Acceptance, Social Equity, and Public Safety

Details

• Creators:
  Shaheen, Susan A. ; Schmidt, Brooke ; Cohen, Adam
• Corporate Creators:
  Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety (CPBS) Tier-1 University Transportation Center (UTC) ; University of California, Berkeley
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program ; United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Equity (Justice) Micromobility Infrastructure Shared Mobility Transportation Safety
• Publication/ Report Number:
  23UCB04
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.21949/f4ab-s548
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report – June 2023 to May 2024
• Corporate Publisher:
  Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety (CPBS) Tier-1 University Transportation Center (UTC)
• Abstract:
  Bike lending allows participants to borrow a bike similar to borrowing a book from a library. However, there is a lack of documented literature on this strategy. This research attempts to understand and characterize the existence of bike lending programs in North America through a literature review, census of bike lending programs (n=55), expert interviews (n=24), a survey of bike lending operators (n=31), and two focus groups with bike lending participants (n=12) conducted between January 2024 through April 2024. The census identified and characterized bike lending programs in North America, and it provided a basis for the remaining methods. Information gathered from the experts was augmented through a survey of operators, allowing for characteristics of bike lending programs to be quantified, such as operations, bike safety, challenges and opportunities, and resources needed to support bike lending and bike safety. The focus groups were conducted to gain insight on the participant perspective of bike lending. The findings across this multi-method approach suggest that bike lending programs are seeking more sustainable funding sources to support long term operations of bike lending programs. Additionally, both bike lending programs and users would like to see more cycling infrastructure to encourage participation and promote safe cycling.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  69A3552348336
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9b81e47e108ce9e1230b3455ad59a0b480916ccb7d268a36a4cfcba51105decf1895aea65a1e69a2a7cc05ca28111b9844518168f9d19aa8826719dbf6d8e306
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/86195/dot_86195_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.05 MB ]