IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v96y2021ics0966692321002283.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The interplay between dockless bikeshare and bus for small-size cities in the US: A case study of Ithaca

Author

Listed:
  • Qiu, Waishan
  • Chang, Hector

Abstract

As another mode of shared transportation, bikeshare can substitute or complement public transit. Prior studies mainly relied on self-reported survey data or aggregated station-level data from docked bikeshare systems, and their conclusions and implications were focused on large cities. It is largely unknown how and to what extent a dockless bikeshare system complements or substitutes public transit, especially in small cities. This study was set to measure the interplay between Lime dockless bikeshare and bus service in Ithaca, NY – a typical small-size college town – and its environs. By joining about 3.42 million records of bus stop data and 102 thousand Lime bikeshare trip data from 2019, two types of Bikeshare-Bus-Linkage (BBL) trips were identified, namely (1) the first-mile trip where a user rides a Lime to board a bus, and (2) the last-mile trip where a user bikes to their destination after alighting a bus. BBL trips were identified using a spatiotemporal proximity framework based on two important parameters: the catchment radius and the time window between a bus stop event and a Lime trip. Different values were tested with a sensitivity analysis, and the parameters were finally set at 100 ft. and 5 min. As such, 3026 BBL trips were identified, which was 3% of total Lime ridership or 0.1% of total bus ridership. Our findings indicated that Lime provided useful first- and last-mile transfers to bus service for commuters. The complementary effect was particularly strong in the urban core and with transit development and employment land use areas. Moreover, in the morning peak, there were more first-mile trips from residential areas to bus stops in the urban core, while in the evening peak more last-mile trips started from bus stops in the urban core to residential areas. Based on the unique first-mile and last-mile trip patterns identified, policy implications and recommendations for bikeshare operators, local government, transit agencies, and transportation policymakers were discussed to better integrate bikeshare and public transit.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiu, Waishan & Chang, Hector, 2021. "The interplay between dockless bikeshare and bus for small-size cities in the US: A case study of Ithaca," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:96:y:2021:i:c:s0966692321002283
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103175
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692321002283
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103175?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. Gu, Tianqi & Kim, Inhi & Currie, Graham, 2019. "Measuring immediate impacts of a new mass transit system on an existing bike-share system in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 20-39.
    2. Xie, Xiao-Feng & Wang, Zunjing Jenipher, 2018. "Examining travel patterns and characteristics in a bikesharing network and implications for data-driven decision supports: Case study in the Washington DC area," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 84-102.
    3. Wang, Kailai & Chen, Yu-Jen, 2020. "Joint analysis of the impacts of built environment on bikeshare station capacity and trip attractions," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    4. Kim, Minjun & Cho, Gi-Hyoug, 2021. "Analysis on bike-share ridership for origin-destination pairs: Effects of public transit route characteristics and land-use patterns," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    5. repec:cdl:itsdav:qt79v822k5 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. repec:cdl:itsrrp:qt6qg8q6ft is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Martin, Elliot W. & Shaheen, Susan A., 2014. "Evaluating public transit modal shift dynamics in response to bikesharing: a tale of two U.S. cities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 315-324.
    8. repec:cdl:itsrrp:qt6x29n876 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. You-Jin Jung & Jeffrey M. Casello, 2020. "Assessment of the transit ridership prediction errors using AVL/APC data," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 2731-2755, December.
    10. Audikana, Ander & Ravalet, Emmanuel & Baranger, Virginie & Kaufmann, Vincent, 2017. "Implementing bikesharing systems in small cities: Evidence from the Swiss experience," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 18-28.
    11. repec:cdl:itsrrp:qt7010k9p3 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Faghih-Imani, Ahmadreza & Eluru, Naveen & El-Geneidy, Ahmed M. & Rabbat, Michael & Haq, Usama, 2014. "How land-use and urban form impact bicycle flows: evidence from the bicycle-sharing system (BIXI) in Montreal," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 306-314.
    13. Wafic El-Assi & Mohamed Salah Mahmoud & Khandker Nurul Habib, 2017. "Effects of built environment and weather on bike sharing demand: a station level analysis of commercial bike sharing in Toronto," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 589-613, May.
    14. Zheyan Chen & Dea van Lierop & Dick Ettema, 2020. "Dockless bike-sharing systems: what are the implications?," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 333-353, May.
    15. Andrea Saltelli, 2002. "Sensitivity Analysis for Importance Assessment," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(3), pages 579-590, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gao, Ming & Fang, Congying, 2025. "Deciphering urban cycling: Analyzing the nonlinear impact of street environments on cycling volume using crowdsourced tracker data and machine learning," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    2. Lv, Huitao & Li, Haojie & Chen, Yanlu & Feng, Tao, 2023. "An origin-destination level analysis on the competitiveness of bike-sharing to underground using explainable machine learning," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    3. Liu, Xinyu & Yu, Jie & Zhao, Jing & Schneider, Robert J., 2025. "Bikeshare impacts on bus ridership: Unraveling the rail proximity effect," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    4. Dehdari Ebrahimi, Zhila & Momenitabar, Mohsen & Nasri, Arefeh A. & Mattson, Jeremy, 2022. "Using a GIS-based spatial approach to determine the optimal locations of bikeshare stations: The case of Washington D.C," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 48-60.
    5. Huang, Ganxiang & Wang, Hongyan & Xu, Di, 2024. "Understanding the complementary effect of bike-sharing on public transit: A case study of subway line expansion in Xiamen, China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).

    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. Lv, Huitao & Li, Haojie & Chen, Yanlu & Feng, Tao, 2023. "An origin-destination level analysis on the competitiveness of bike-sharing to underground using explainable machine learning," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    2. Kim, Minjun & Cho, Gi-Hyoug, 2021. "Analysis on bike-share ridership for origin-destination pairs: Effects of public transit route characteristics and land-use patterns," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    3. 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.
    4. Ying Ni & Jiaqi Chen, 2020. "Exploring the Effects of the Built Environment on Two Transfer Modes for Metros: Dockless Bike Sharing and Taxis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, March.
    5. Yi Yao & Yifang Zhang & Lixin Tian & Nianxing Zhou & Zhilin Li & Minggang Wang, 2019. "Analysis of Network Structure of Urban Bike-Sharing System: A Case Study Based on Real-Time Data of a Public Bicycle System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-17, September.
    6. Chiou, Yu-Chiun & Wu, Kuo-Chi, 2024. "Bikesharing: The first- and last-mile service of public transportation? Evidence from an origin–destination perspective," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    7. Ma, Xinwei & Ji, Yanjie & Yuan, Yufei & Van Oort, Niels & Jin, Yuchuan & Hoogendoorn, Serge, 2020. "A comparison in travel patterns and determinants of user demand between docked and dockless bike-sharing systems using multi-sourced data," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 148-173.
    8. Cheng, Long & Huang, Jie & Jin, Tanhua & Chen, Wendong & Li, Aoyong & Witlox, Frank, 2023. "Comparison of station-based and free-floating bikeshare systems as feeder modes to the metro," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    9. Todd, James & O'Brien, Oliver & Cheshire, James, 2021. "A global comparison of bicycle sharing systems," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    10. Mix, Richard & Hurtubia, Ricardo & Raveau, Sebastián, 2022. "Optimal location of bike-sharing stations: A built environment and accessibility approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 126-142.
    11. 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).
    12. Zhan, Zilin & Guo, Yuanyuan & Noland, Robert B. & He, Sylvia Y. & Wang, Yacan, 2023. "Analysis of links between dockless bikeshare and metro trips in Beijing," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    13. Wang, Ruoxuan & Wu, Jianping & Qi, Geqi, 2022. "Exploring regional sustainable commuting patterns based on dockless bike-sharing data and POI data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    14. Cheng, Long & Yang, Junjian & Chen, Xuewu & Cao, Mengqiu & Zhou, Hang & Sun, Yu, 2020. "How could the station-based bike sharing system and the free-floating bike sharing system be coordinated?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    15. Schimohr, Katja & Scheiner, Joachim, 2021. "Spatial and temporal analysis of bike-sharing use in Cologne taking into account a public transit disruption," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    16. Yi Zhu, 2022. "Can bicycle sharing mitigate vehicle emission in Chinese large cities? Estimation based on mode shift analysis," Transportation, Springer, vol. 49(6), pages 1627-1648, December.
    17. Alexandra Cortez-Ordoñez & Ana Belén Tulcanaza-Prieto, 2023. "The Effect of Gender and Age in Small Bicycle Sharing Systems: Case Study from Logroño, Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-17, May.
    18. Mehzabin Tuli, Farzana & Mitra, Suman & Crews, Mariah B., 2021. "Factors influencing the usage of shared E-scooters in Chicago," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 164-185.
    19. Mingyang Du & Lin Cheng, 2018. "Better Understanding the Characteristics and Influential Factors of Different Travel Patterns in Free-Floating Bike Sharing: Evidence from Nanjing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-14, April.
    20. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:96:y:2021:i:c:s0966692321002283. 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.