Weather and cycling in New York: The case of Citibike

This study maps and models the effect of weather on cycling in New York whilst controlling for several built and natural environment characteristics and temporal factors. To this end, we draw on 12 months of disaggregate trip data from the Citibike public bicycle sharing scheme (PBSP) in New York, currently the largest public bicycle sharing system in the United States, and spatially integrate these data with information on land use, bicycle infrastructure, topography, calendar events and weather. Overall, we find that weather impacts cycling rates more than topography, infrastructure, land use mix, calendar events, and peaks. The policy implication is that, in northern latitudes which experience inclement weather for extended periods, creating state-of-the-art cycling infrastructure - sheltered, promptly cleared from snow, and potentially heated - may be much more important than in warm and sunny places if planners are to succeed in “getting people out of their cars.”