University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

Dock-less, electric bike-share services offer cities a new transportation option with the potential to improve environmental, social, and health outcomes by increasing physical activity and reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and related greenhouse gas emissions. But these benefits accrue only if bike-share use replaces car travel. If bikeshare pulls users from public transit, personal bikes, or walking, the benefits will be limited. Little is known about the factors influencing whether bike-share substitutes for driving. Understanding the degree to which and under what circumstances bike-share use reduces car travel can inform cities’ efforts to meet VMT reduction goals set under California’s Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (Senate Bill 375). Researchers at the University of California, Davis collected user surveys and system-wide trip data from a Sacramentoarea dockless e-bike-share program in 2018 and 2019 to examine factors influencing travel mode substitution and estimated system-wide VMT reductions caused by bikeshare use. They developed a model to examine factors influencing bike-share demand and estimated potential VMT reductions for hypothetical expanded service scenarios.