Anonymous user
Bike sharing: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
imported>Eaymer No edit summary |
imported>Eaymer No edit summary |
||
Line 1:
The term "bike sharing" is applied to short-term bicycle rental schemes that allow persons to collect, use and drop off bicycles within a given service area (commonly a city, but may also be a more limited zone, as in a university or corporate campus). The traditional bike sharing model locates bicycles at specified, purpose-built points within a designated zone from which users can rent and return them.
Bike sharing has its inception in the 1960s, but was hampered in its growth by problems related to not being able to gain real-time information about the bicycle network, track the bikes and properly secure them. In the present, these difficulties have been overcome by technology. Bicycle sharing networks can now be monitored in real-time, individual bicycles can be electronically tracked and can even be remotely secured.
The 2000s have seen a boom in bike sharing due to its relatively low costs compared to other transportation infrastructure, a push towards "green" cities, and through the support of regional and municipal governments and academic institutions. In 2004, only 11 cities had embraced bike sharing. That number has since mushroomed with more than 1,000 public bicycle rental schemes of various kinds running in 50 countries across five continents at this writing (2017). In addition to public and mixed public and private bike sharing programs, there has been an uptick in private businesses, including several start-ups, entering the arena. Bike sharing is especially widespread in Asia and in China in particular, where a single bike sharing system can encompass as many as 200,000 bicycles.
Another major differentiator among bike sharing providers is whether the service offered employs designated bicycle kiosks (also known as docks) or is a dockless bike sharing network. Less significant differentiators are the models of bike used, and the payment methods a service allows.
== Bike Sharing Advantages ==
For users:
*Convenience
*Affordability
*Benefits to health and sense of well-being
*Expansion of personal mobility
*Financial savings (depending on costs)
*Freedom from the costs, upkeep, and responsibilities of bicycle ownership
For communities:
*Helps facilitate and promote density (from a YIMBY perspective)
*Reduced car traffic and congestion
*Reduced air and noise pollution
*Extends existing transit networks and their reach
*Can expand the visibility and social acceptability of cycling in general (a low impact form of transportation)
*Encourages fitness
*Attractive to commuters and tourists alike
*Possible increases in social cohesiveness
Note that automobile-centric communities experience issues around the accessibility and affordability of transportation, pollution and other environmental impacts, sustainable growth and social cohesion.
== References ==
[https://theconversation.com/the-global-bike-sharing-boom-why-cities-love-a-cycling-scheme-53895 The Global Bike Sharing Boom - Why Cities Love A Bike Sharing Scheme - The Conversation]
== See also ==
Line 9 ⟶ 43:
*[[Collaborative_consumption|Collaborative_consumption]]
*[[Car_sharing|Car_sharing]]
*Dockless bike sharing
[[Category:Transportation]] [[Category:Sustainable transportation]] [[Category:Cycling]] [[Category:Sharing Economy]]
| |||