Investigating the impacts of bike lanes on bike share ridership: A holistic approach and demonstration

Globally, planners and policymakers have recognized cycling to be a sustainable and important component of urban transportation systems. Consequently, cities are increasingly investing in infrastructure as a means of generating cycling traffic in lieu of motorized traffic. Separated cycling infrastructure has been found to improve perceived safety amongst cyclists, and while many studies have aimed to demonstrate the impacts of an infrastructure intervention on cycling ridership, examining the growth in ridership or route pattern changes, this study provides a holistic analysis of the potential impacts of one infrastructure intervention. Using Hamilton Bike Share (HBS) GPS trajectories from January 2019 to August 2022, (n = 578,211) in Hamilton, Ontario, and Dalumpines and Scott's (2011) GIS-based map-matching algorithm, this work consolidates three methods of analysis to determine spatial and ridership impacts of the City's Victoria Avenue cycle track intervention, which was completed in December 2021. Distributions of trip origins were mapped and network distances to the cycle track were modelled as distance-decay functions (pre- and post-intervention), with decreased distance-decay being found post-intervention. Secondly, the study presents a novel classification process to assess and enumerate trips post-intervention, and nearly 47% of all trips which used the cycle track post-construction were classified as ‘induced’ trips. Finally, the usage by HBS riders of streets parallel and perpendicular to the intervention pre- and post-intervention were tabulated and mapped, and a distinct ‘funneling’ pattern of trips post-intervention emerged. The cycle track saw increases in overall usage by HBS riders, while neighboring parallel streets saw decreased usage – indicating trip diversion to use the new infrastructure. Through these three analyses, this study not only presents a well-rounded examination of the potential impacts of the Victoria Avenue cycle track on Hamilton Bike Share ridership, it also provides a methodological framework for future, holistic studies of interventions' impacts on cycling ridership.