Going the Extra Mile: Investigating the relationship between bikeshare and public transit

Bikesharing has emerged as a popular response to the ever-growing need for sustainable, flexible transportation options in urban areas. With the ability to bridge the gaps in traditional transit networks, bikesharing offers a potential solution to the first-mile / last-mile problem, making it easier for commuters to connect to and from public transit. Despite its rapid adoption, little is known about how bikesharing trips interact with public transit usage on the aggregate. This research studies the complex interplay between bikesharing and public transit in three major U.S. cities: Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles. We use bikesharing trip data along with historical general transit feed specification data to investigate the extent to which bikesharing trips integrate with or substitute against public transit in these geographically and demographically distinct cities, as well as how various spatial, temporal and socioeconomic factors may influence these dynamics. Our findings reveal that modal integration is associated with higher service frequency of public transit, while modal substitution tends to be more common in dense urban cores. The interaction between bikesharing and public transit is also shaped by individual and neighbourhood-level social factors. Younger commuters, particularly in college neighbourhoods, and individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods are more likely to integrate bikesharing with public transit. Built environment differences between the three cities also influence how bikesharing is used in relation to public transit. These findings support the need to consider built environment and socioeconomic factors when planning for effective integration between bikesharing and public transit systems and, ultimately, sustainable and equitable urban transportation systems.