A Unique Case of Bikesharing Success in a Small City: JerseyBike in Hoboken
Publication: International Conference on Transportation and Development 2021
ABSTRACT
Several studies claim that, due to low usage, bikesharing programs could not be a financially sustainable service in small cities. Moreover, six large cities in the U.S. account for about 85% of bikesharing ridership, while the rest of the country generates only 15% of the ridership. This study investigates a thriving bikesharing program in Hoboken, a small city in New Jersey, with a 50,000 population. This paper investigates the socio-economic factors contributing to this success, as well as the riders’ behaviors. A combination of descriptive statistics, data visualization, spatiotemporal, and statistical analyses is used to investigate the program. JerseyBike is compared with three bikesharing programs in small cities in the U.S. The results imply that a positive biking culture, high public transit ridership, partnership with public and private sectors, sustainable business model, existing bike facilities, and population density contribute to this success. JerseyBike provides first-mile and last-mile mobility for public transit commuters, facilitating access to public transit in low population density areas. The results reveal how the purpose of bikesharing trips changes throughout a week and how weather conditions (e.g., precipitation) influence demand for bikesharing. Finally, recommendations for policymakers and investors are presented to assist the adoption of bikeshare programs.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this chapter.
REFERENCES
ArborBike. (2020). “ArborBike posts.” <https://rb.gy/bujq5r> (May 8, 2020).
Audikana, A., Ravalet, E., Baranger, V., and Kaufmann, V. (2017). “Implementing bikesharing systems in small cities: Evidence from the Swiss experience.” Transport Policy, 55, 18–28.
Bao, J., Xu, C., Liu, P., and Wang, W. (2017). “Exploring Bikesharing Travel Patterns and Trip Purposes Using Smart Card Data and Online Point of Interests.” Networks and Spatial Economics, 17(4), 1231–1253.
Bührmann, S. (2007). New seamless mobility services: public bicycles policy.
Büttner, J., and Petersen, T. (2011). Optimising bike sharing in European cities.
Caulfield, B., O’Mahony, M., Brazil, W., and Weldon, P. (2017). “Examining usage patterns of a bike-sharing scheme in a medium sized city.” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 100, 152–161.
Cock, J. (2016). “Bike Share in Small & Medium-Sized Cities North America has Embraced Bike Share.” Transportation research board tools of the trade.
Faghih-Imani, A., Eluru, N., and El-Geneidy. (2014). “How land-use and urban form impact bicycle flows: evidence from the bicycle-sharing system (BIXI) in Montreal.” Journal of Transport Geography, 41, 306–314.
Gebhart, K., and Noland, R. B. (2014). “The impact of weather conditions on bikeshare trips in Washington, DC.” Transportation, 41(6), 1205–1225.
Godavarthy, R. (2017). Evaluation Study of the Bike Share Program in Fargo, North Dakota. Fargo, ND.
Godavarthy, R. P., and Rahim Taleqani, A. (2017). “Winter bikesharing in US: User willingness, and operator’s challenges and best practices.” Sustainable Cities and Society, 30, 254–262.
Great Rides. (2020). “Great Rides live data.” <https://bit.ly/35WrzDG> (May 8, 2020).
Hallisey, K. (2019). “WeHo Pedals Bike Share to discontinue operation.” <https://beagreencommuter.com/weho-pedals-bike-share-to-discontinue-operation/> (May 8, 2020).
Heinen, E., Maat, K., and van Wee, B. (2013). “The effect of work-related factors on the bicycle commute mode choice in the Netherlands.” Transportation, 40(1), 23–43.
Hoboken DOT. (2011). “Transit in Hoboken.” <https://rb.gy/af4mjr> (Jul. 7, 2020).
Hudson Bike Share. (2015). “Hudson Bike Share Sponsors.” <https://rb.gy/gasgyb> (Aug. 8, 2015).
Leonard, J. (2018). Direction Regarding Weho Pedals Bike Share Program. West Hollywood, CA.
Mattson, J., and Godavarthy, R. (2017). “Bike share in Fargo, North Dakota: Keys to success and factors affecting ridership.” Sustainable Cities and Society, 34(March), 174–182.
Midgley, P. (2009). “The role of smart bike-sharing systems in urban mobility.” Journeys, 2(1), 23–31.
Morency, C., and Trepanier, M. (2017). Modelling bikesharing usage in Montreal over 6 years. CIRRELT.
National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO). (2019). Shared Micromobility in the U.S.: 2018.
Nikitas, A. (2018). “Understanding bike-sharing acceptability and expected usage patterns in the context of a small city novel to the concept.” Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 56, 306–321.
P3 Global Management. (2019a). Three Years of JerseyBike.
P3 Global Management. (2019b). “Hudson Bike Share dataset.” <https://hudsonbikeshare.com/data/> (Jul. 7, 2020).
Parkin, J., Wardman, M., and Page, M. (2007). “Estimation of the determinants of bicycle mode share for the journey to work using census data.” Transportation, 35(1), 93–109.
Regue, R., and Recker, W. (2014). “Proactive vehicle routing with inferred demand to solve the bikesharing rebalancing problem.” Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 72, 192–209.
Shaheen, S., Guzman, S., and Zhang, H. (2012). Bikesharing across the globe. City cycling.
Stanton, R. (2019). “bike share stations for new ArborBike program.” <https://rb.gy/bf8sel> (May 8, 2020).
Tree Down Town. (2017). “The Uncertain Future of ArborBike.” <https://bit.ly/3lraIxl > (Jun. 8, 2020).
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2018). Fast Facts: U.S. Transportation Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 1990–2017.
U.S. Census. (2019). American Community Survey 2018.
WalkScore. (2019). “Living in Hoboken.” <https://rb.gy/nye5dm> (Aug. 8, 2020).
Wikipedia. (2020). “Hoboken Terminal.” <https://bit.ly/370zLSA> (Nov. 11, 2020).
Wunderground. (n.d.). “Newark International Airport Weather dataset.” <http://tiny.cc/xzt5tz > (Aug. 8, 2020).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Conference on Transportation and Development 2021
Pages: 13 - 25
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Jun 4, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.