IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v94y2021ics0966692321001824.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A vehicle for valorising the labour power of commuting: The politics of mobility fixing in Shanghai's Dockless Public Bike Sharing Sector

Author

Listed:
  • Spinney, Justin
  • Lin, Wen-I

Abstract

This paper seeks to contribute to ongoing debates around the politics of hybrid mobilities, smart cities, surveillance capitalism and mobility fixing. Based on a set of qualitative interviews with key stakeholders and secondary sources, the paper uses the emergence of dockless public bike sharing in Shanghai between 2016 and 2018 as its case study. In order to explain the emergence of dockless PBSS and illustrate our contention that this system seeks to create surplus value from the work of mobility (in this case cycle commuting), we examine the processes of valorisation that have occurred in order to both position PBSS as a worthy activity (and therefore remunerate participants affectively) and produce use values for the data generated by users. In doing so we also highlight the ways in which these processes of valorisation seek to ensure that the mobility work of users is not aligned with the products of that labour in order to avoid calls for this mobility work to be remunerated as wage labour (which would reduce any surplus value extraction). Ultimately we argue that these processes of valorisation are not only invasive, but exclusionary in that they prioritise select aspects of social practice that address matters of (governmental) concern, rather than a more rounded interpretation. We argue that there is an urgent need to recognise mobility practices beyond registers that simply prepare the ground for their marketisation.

Suggested Citation

  • Spinney, Justin & Lin, Wen-I, 2021. "A vehicle for valorising the labour power of commuting: The politics of mobility fixing in Shanghai's Dockless Public Bike Sharing Sector," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:94:y:2021:i:c:s0966692321001824
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103129
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692321001824
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103129?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Piwek, Lukasz & Joinson, Adam & Morvan, James, 2015. "The use of self-monitoring solutions amongst cyclists: An online survey and empirical study," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 126-136.
    2. Caulfield, Brian & O'Mahony, Margaret & Brazil, William & Weldon, Peter, 2017. "Examining usage patterns of a bike-sharing scheme in a medium sized city," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 152-161.
    3. Amrita Chhachhi & Guy Standing, 2014. "Understanding the Precariat through Labour and Work," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(5), pages 963-980, September.
    4. Stavros Mavroudeas & Alexis Ioannides, 2011. "Duration, Intensity and Productivity of Labour and the Distinction between Absolute and Relative Surplus-value," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 421-437.
    5. Zhang, Yongping & Mi, Zhifu, 2018. "Environmental benefits of bike sharing: A big data-based analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 296-301.
    6. Behrendt, Frauke, 2016. "Why cycling matters for Smart Cities. Internet of Bicycles for Intelligent Transport," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 157-164.
    7. Lin, Jenn-Rong & Yang, Ta-Hui, 2011. "Strategic design of public bicycle sharing systems with service level constraints," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 284-294, March.
    8. Griffin, Greg Phillip & Jiao, Junfeng, 2015. "Where does bicycling for health happen? Analysing volunteered geographic information through place and plexus," SocArXiv 5gy3u, Center for Open Science.
    9. Lawrence D. Burns, 2013. "A vision of our transport future," Nature, Nature, vol. 497(7448), pages 181-182, May.
    10. Justin Spinney, 2016. "Fixing Mobility in the Neoliberal City: Cycling Policy and Practice in London as a Mode of Political–Economic and Biopolitical Governance," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 106(2), pages 450-458, March.
    11. Médard de Chardon, Cyrille, 2019. "The contradictions of bike-share benefits, purposes and outcomes," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 401-419.
    12. John Stehlin & Michael Hodson & Andrew McMeekin, 2020. "Platform mobilities and the production of urban space: Toward a typology of platformization trajectories," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(7), pages 1250-1268, October.
    13. Schuijbroek, J. & Hampshire, R.C. & van Hoeve, W.-J., 2017. "Inventory rebalancing and vehicle routing in bike sharing systems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 257(3), pages 992-1004.
    14. Jian-gang Shi & Hongyun Si & Guangdong Wu & Yangyue Su & Jing Lan, 2018. "Critical Factors to Achieve Dockless Bike-Sharing Sustainability in China: A Stakeholder-Oriented Network Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-16, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wen-I Lin & Justin Spinney, 2021. "Mobilising the dispositive: Exploring the role of dockless public bike sharing in transforming urban governance in Shanghai," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(10), pages 2095-2116, August.
    2. Hongze Tan & Shengchen Du, 2021. "The Governance Challenge within Socio-Technical Transition Processes: Public Bicycles and Smartphone-Based Bicycles in Guangzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Alexandros Nikitas, 2019. "How to Save Bike-Sharing: An Evidence-Based Survival Toolkit for Policy-Makers and Mobility Providers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, June.
    4. Jiaoe Wang & Jie Huang & Michael Dunford, 2019. "Rethinking the Utility of Public Bicycles: The Development and Challenges of Station-Less Bike Sharing in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, March.
    5. Mário Meireles & Paulo J. G. Ribeiro, 2020. "Digital Platform/Mobile App to Boost Cycling for the Promotion of Sustainable Mobility in Mid-Sized Starter Cycling Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-27, March.
    6. Elżbieta Macioszek & Paulina Świerk & Agata Kurek, 2020. "The Bike-Sharing System as an Element of Enhancing Sustainable Mobility—A Case Study based on a City in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-29, April.
    7. Peiyu Yi & Feihu Huang & Jian Peng, 2019. "A Rebalancing Strategy for the Imbalance Problem in Bike-Sharing Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-18, July.
    8. Xinwei Ma & Ruiming Cao & Jianbiao Wang, 2019. "Effects of Psychological Factors on Modal Shift from Car to Dockless Bike Sharing: A Case Study of Nanjing, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-16, September.
    9. Behrendt, Frauke, 2016. "Why cycling matters for Smart Cities. Internet of Bicycles for Intelligent Transport," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 157-164.
    10. Radzimski, Adam & Dzięcielski, Michał, 2021. "Exploring the relationship between bike-sharing and public transport in Poznań, Poland," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 189-202.
    11. Yi, Wenjing & Yan, Jie, 2020. "Energy consumption and emission influences from shared mobility in China: A national level annual data analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    12. Hyungkyoo Kim, 2020. "Seasonal Impacts of Particulate Matter Levels on Bike Sharing in Seoul, South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-17, June.
    13. Hu, Yujie & Zhang, Yongping & Lamb, David & Zhang, Mingming & Jia, Peng, 2019. "Examining and optimizing the BCycle bike-sharing system – A pilot study in Colorado, US," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C), pages 1-12.
    14. Kyoungok Kim, 2024. "Discovering spatiotemporal usage patterns of a bike-sharing system by type of pass: a case study from Seoul," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 1373-1407, August.
    15. Zhao, De & Ong, Ghim Ping, 2021. "Geo-fenced parking spaces identification for free-floating bicycle sharing system," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 49-63.
    16. Ma, Xinwei & Zhang, Shuai & Wu, Tao & Yang, Yizhe & Yu, Jiajie, 2023. "Can dockless and docked bike-sharing substitute each other? Evidence from Nanjing, China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    17. Muhammad Usama & Yongjun Shen & Onaira Zahoor, 2019. "Towards an Energy Efficient Solution for Bike-Sharing Rebalancing Problems: A Battery Electric Vehicle Scenario," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-21, June.
    18. Sherriff, Graeme & Adams, Mags & Blazejewski, Luke & Davies, Nick & Kamerāde, Daiga, 2020. "From Mobike to no bike in Greater Manchester: Using the capabilities approach to explore Europe's first wave of dockless bike share," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    19. Li, Aoyong & Zhao, Pengxiang & Huang, Yizhe & Gao, Kun & Axhausen, Kay W., 2020. "An empirical analysis of dockless bike-sharing utilization and its explanatory factors: Case study from Shanghai, China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    20. Franklin Oliveira & Dilan Nery & Daniel G. Costa & Ivanovitch Silva & Luciana Lima, 2021. "A Survey of Technologies and Recent Developments for Sustainable Smart Cycling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-28, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:94:y:2021:i:c:s0966692321001824. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.