HomeMy WebLinkAboutReading File - Shared Moblity in the US 201884 MILLION
TRIPS IN 2018
Shared Micromobility
in the U.S.: 2018
2
In 2018, people took 84 million trips
on Shared Micromobility in the
United States, more than double the
number of trips taken in 2017.
Station-based bike share
(including e-bikes)
Scooter share
Dockless bike share
(including e-bikes)
Shared Micromoblity
encompasses all shared-use
fleets of small, fully or partially
human-powered vehicles such as
bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters.
Source: NACTO
What is
Shared Micromobility?
3
Shared Micromobility Across the U.S. (as of 12/31/18)
Station-based bike share only (>150 bikes)
Both station-based bike share & scooter share
Scooter share only (>150 scooters)
Dockless bike share only
Source: NACTO
4
Dockless pedal (non-electric) bikes,
which quickly proliferated across the U.S.
in 2017, have largely disappeared from
North American cities, with just 3 million
trips in a handful of cities in 2018.
E-bikes emerged as a popular option,
accounting for 6.5 million trips in 2018 (6
million in dockless systems and 500,000
in station-based systems).
Since 2010, people have taken 207
million trips on shared bikes and
e-scooters.
In 2018, people took 36.5
million trips on station-
based bike share systems
and 38.5 million trips on
shared e-scooters.
84 Million Trips on Shared Micromobility in 2018
Source: NACTO
Dockless bike
share trips:
9 M
E-bike trips
(station-based
& dockless):
6.5 M
Scooter trips:
38.5 M
84
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Station-based
bike share trips:
36.5 M
Breakdown of 2018 Trips
Source: NACTO
2010
10
20
30
40
60
50
70
80
90
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2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Station-based bike share
Dockless bike share
Scooter share 84 M
35 M
28 M
22 M
18 M
13 M
2.4 M 321 K
4.5 M
5
In 2018, e-scooters overtook bikes
as the preferred vehicle for dockless
vendors. As of the end of 2018, over
85,000 e-scooters were available for
public use in about 100 U.S. cities. In
contrast, dockless bikes, which once
numbered in the tens of thousands,
have largely disappeared from city
streets, with the notable exception of
dockless bikes still in use in Seattle.
Over the course of 2018, most
dockless bike share companies
(including Lime and Spin) retooled
their fleets to focus on e-scooters,
and new e-scooter-only companies
What we
saw in 2018
Goodbye dockless pedal
bikes; hello e-scooters.
(including Bird) emerged. Early
e-scooter adopter cities include
Santa Monica and Austin, and
e-scooter companies expanded to
many more cities from there, with
about 26 formal e-scooter share
pilots across the U.S. launching
between July and September.
Venture capital-backed ride-hail
companies began investing large
sums in shared micromobility
companies, with Uber acquiring Jump
Bikes and Lyft acquiring Motivate, the
operator of the five largest docked
bike share systems in the U.S.
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System Sizes (as of 12/31/18)
< 1,000 bikes
< 2,000 bikes
< 7,000 bikes
10,000+ bikes
Station-Based
Bike Share
Scooter Share
< 2,000 scooters
< 5,000 scooters
10,000+ scooters
Source: NACTO
Source: NACTO
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36.5 million trips were taken on
station-based bike share, an
increase of 9% from 2017. While 9
million trips were taken on dockless
bike share, this number is expected
to decrease in 2019 due to the
disappearance of most dockless
shared bikes across the U.S. 38.5
million trips were taken on scooters
across the U.S., reflecting the wide
proliferation of vehicles in many
cities.
In station-based bike share systems,
a number of system expansions
resulted in increased ridership.
Three of the top five bike share cities
(Washington DC, Metro Boston, and
the Bay Area, CA) increased the
number of stations in their system. In
total, there are now 57,000 station-
based bike share bikes in the U.S., up
9% from 2017.
In the Bay Area, Ford GoBike expanded
its fleet 10-fold, and increased
ridership by 260%. Similarly, in
Honolulu, Biki increased its fleet by
30%, and trips increased by 200%. In
Metro Boston, Bluebikes expanded its
fleet by 40%, and ridership increased
by 30%. Boston also increased its
coverage area: as of the end of 2018,
85% of Boston residents live within
a 5-7 minute walk from a Bluebikes
station, up from 67% in 2017.
The six cities with the highest
ridership account for 84% of all
station-based bike share trips in the
U.S., similar to prior years. E-scooter
ridership similarly is concentrated
in a small number of cities: 40% of
all e-scooter trips took place in the
Los Angeles, San Diego, and Austin
regions.
More than twice as many trips—84 million—
were taken on shared micromobility in the
U.S. as compared to the year before.
Station-Based Bike Share Ridership
2010
5
10
15
20
30
25
35
40
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2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Source: NACTO
All other systems
Capital Bike Share
(Washington DC)
Ford GoBike (Bay Area)
Biki (Honolulu)
Bluebikes
(Greater Boston)
Citi Bike NYC
Divvy (Chicago)
8
NACTO’s analysis of ridership data shows
a marked difference between the riding
patterns of annual or monthly pass station-
based bike share riders and day-pass/
single-trip or casual bike share riders. In
general, annual/monthly pass holders are
more likely to ride during traditional rush-
hours, suggesting that they are using the
system for commute trips. In contrast, day/
single trip riders are more likely to ride in
the middle of the day and on weekends,
and for longer periods of time, suggesting
social, shopping and other recreational use.
Why people are riding depends
on what they’re riding.
Trips by Hour
Trips by Day
Data from Washington, DC and Portland,
OR, suggests that e-scooter share use more
closely mirrors that of social, shopping and
other recreational bike share use. Average
peak usage for e-scooters begins around
11AM – 12PM and continues throughout the
afternoon into early evening. E-scooters are
used throughout the week but use is highest
on weekends. In contrast, aggregated data
from station-based systems shows ridership
peaking at rush hours and during the week.
Scooter share
Station-based
bike share
(annual members)
Station-based
bike share
(casual riders)
121 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
rush hour rush hour
10 11
am
0%
15%
5%
10%
pm
12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Source: NACTO
Scooters
Station-based
bike share
(annual members)
15%
10%
20%
Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri SunSat
weekend
Source: NACTO
9
Survey data from a number of cities also
shows a difference in why people choose
to ride. People using station-based bike
share are more likely than people using
e-scooter share to report that they ride
to get to/from work and to say that they
use bike share to connect to transit.
Why People Ride
25%0%50%75%
Connection
to Transit
Social
* See methodology for cities used for analysis
Recreation /
Exercise
To / From
Work
Scooters
Station-based
bike share
Source: NACTO
10
Across the country, the vehicles that
have the highest use-frequency
(measured by rides/vehicle/day) are
e-bikes. Cities that added e-bikes
to their station-based fleets report
that, on average, e-bikes are used
twice as frequently as pedal bikes.
For example, in New York City, e-bikes
are used up to 15 times a day during
high ridership months (compared to
around 5 times a day for pedal bikes).
With e-bikes’ popularity apparent,
bike share companies are now rapidly
adding e-bikes to their fleets. In San
Francisco, e-bikes were introduced in
May and comprised a third of the fleet
by the end of the year. Looking forward,
Minneapolis plans to transition its
entire docked fleet from pedal to
electric vehicles, while New York City is
working towards a fleet that is a third
electric.
Pedal Bike
5 rides per day 15 rides per day
E-Bike
E-bikes are popular
where they are in use.
higher ridership months higher ridership months
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The Average Trip
On average, annual members in
station-based bike share programs
paid $1.25 per ride, compared to
$2.75 per ride for casual users, and
$3.50 per e-scooter share ride.
Cities have required bike share
and scooter companies to offer
discounts for low-income residents
as a condition for operating in
the public right-of-way. By the
end of 2018, 30% of bike and
e-scooter share systems provided
membership discounts for people
with low incomes. In station-based
systems, the majority of these
programs offer unlimited trips
for $5/month. In addition, 17% of
station-based systems provided
cash access options. For scooters,
the available discounts vary by
company and by market within the
same company, and are unevenly
advertised.
The average cost
per trip varies widely
depending on the
system type and
amount of use per
typical rider.
*Based on data from Capital Bike Share, Bluebikes,
Citi Bike, Divvy, and Ford GoBike
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
5
10
15
20
25
3.0
$2.50$2.75$1.25$3.50
Pr
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Mi
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s
Source: NACTO
Statio
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Casua
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Scoot
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E-Bik
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12
In 2018, over half of Ford GoBike
users in Oakland took advantage of
an option to link their transit card
to bike share, making payment
more seamless across systems. In
Pittsburgh, HealthyRide members
receive a free 15 minute transfer
between bike share and the bus.
Bike share systems are pioneering
new access options that can reduce
transportation costs and make riding
more convenient.
13
Rides per vehicle per day is an
intensity metric used to show
frequency of use for bike share
systems. For comparison, we’ve
expanded the use of this metric for
e-scooter share.
Data from over 30 different cities
shows that ridership varies greatly
by city and by the number of vehicles
available. Rides per bike per day
and rides per e-scooter per day
(abbreviated to rides/vehicle/day or
r/v/d) vary from less than 1 r/v/d to a
little over 4 r/v/d. Ridership is impacted
by factors such as availability of low-
stress bike lanes, station density, how
well bike/scooter share is integrated
into the wider transportation network,
and the extent of rider outreach and
education undertaken by the vendors.
The largest bike share systems are
more heavily utilized, on a per-bike
basis, than smaller systems.
Smaller station-based bike share
systems without a dense network of
stations or a large number of bikes
had low vehicle utilization rates, as
the factors that make a bike share
system successful—a high number of
bikes conveniently placed over a large
area—were absent. The largest docked
bike share systems were more heavily
utilized, with the largest (New York’s
Citi Bike) achieving an average of over
4 rides per bike per day across 12,000
bikes, including winter months.
While data is limited and inconclusive,
e-scooters do not yet appear to benefit
from a network effect, and the largest
fleets of e-scooter on city streets
had lower ridership per vehicle than
smaller fleets, an inverse of the trend
for docked bike share systems.
The Average Rides per Vehicle per Day
by Fleet Size Trip
120006000900030001000
5
4
3
2
1
0
2000 4000 5000 7000
Vehicle Fleet Size
Each data point represents a city.
bike share system
scooter share
Ri
d
e
s
p
e
r
V
e
h
i
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l
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p
e
r
D
a
y
8000 10000 11000
Source: NACTO
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In 2018, the volatile nature of the
dockless landscape left some
cities in a vulnerable position. For
example, Camden, NJ, aiming to
expand transportation options for
low-income residents, welcomed
Ofo, a dockless bike share company,
onto its streets in early 2018.
However, two months into their six-
month pilot, Ofo abruptly left the
city, leaving Camden without a bike
share program and leaving behind
a fleet of abandoned bikes, which
had to be located, impounded, and
disposed of by the city.
Looking
Forward
A rapidly changing
market raises
questions about
system dependability.
State-level legislation
might hinder cities
from managing their
own streets.
In many states, e-scooters are not
defined in motor vehicle codes,
creating a legal gray area for their
operation. In response, e-scooter
companies are pushing legislation in
many states to legalize e-scooter use.
However, some state bills go beyond
defining and legalizing e-scooters. As
currently drafted, these bills would
preempt city authority to regulate
shared micromobility services. With
this, cities could lose the ability to
manage the activity on their own
streets, hindering efforts to ensure
that systems are safe and provide
the most mobility benefits to the
communities in which they operate.
As of the beginning of 2019,
there were over 44 e-scooter bills
introduced in 26 states.
15
NACTO counts all station-based systems
with over 150 bikes. For purposes of
clarity and analysis, smart bike systems,
where the electronic components are
incorporated into the bike itself, and use
of a dock is often optional, are included
in station-based bike share counts
throughout this report.
For e-scooters, NACTO’s count includes
all systems of more than 150 vehicles
operating in one of the top 100 cities
by population. NACTO does not include
systems that operate solely or mostly on
closed campuses such as universities or
corporate campuses.
For station-based bike share estimates,
NACTO used trip number datasets
publicly reported by operators along with
trip totals provided by cities.
Data for dockless bikes and e-scooters
was less consistent, and data quality
and accuracy remains an ongoing issue
with many companies. Cities have found
discrepancies between what is reported
by companies and what they find
during spot checks. There is a growing
conversation about data specifications
and tools to audit and verify company-
reported data that should shed
additional light on ridership in 2019.
For dockless bike share and e-scooter
share trip estimates, NACTO combined
data provided to NACTO by dockless
bike and e-scooter companies with data
provided by cities and verifiable public
reports.
For information about rider behavior,
NACTO combined publicly available
trip data and survey data conducted
by cities. Data for the ‘why people ride’
analysis was sourced from Denver,
Portland, and Baltimore for scooters,
and Washington DC, New York City, and
Chicago for bike share. The social and
recreation/exercise data points for bike
share were available from Washington
DC only. To date, there has not been a
comprehensive, multi-city survey or
census of the demographics of shared
micromobility users.
For information about trip use profile,
NACTO combined data reported by cities
and operators directly to NACTO.
There is variance in how shared
micromobility companies and regulators
calculate rides per vehicle per day. For
the purposes of this analysis, NACTO
used the trip number data sets reported
by cities or companies, number of days
in operation, and number of reported
vehicles.
For calculation of average trip
comparisons, NACTO used trip distance
and time reported directly to NACTO
by cities. For dockless systems, NACTO
calculated average costs based on the
reported time/distance information and
publicly available pricing information.
Due to the monthly pricing structure of
station-based membership, average cost
was calculated using publicly available
pricing information and data on average
trips per month, provided to NACTO from
the five largest bike share systems.
Methodology
16
This report is made possible by ClimateWorks and by the Better
Bike Share Partnership. The Better Bike Share Partnership is a
collaboration funded by The JPB Foundation to build equitable
and replicable bike share systems. The partners include The City
of Philadelphia, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the
National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and
the PeopleForBikes Foundation
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino /
PacificBasin Communication