Bike sharing systems have been established in several cities across North America. An objective of all bike sharing programs is to maximize the number of trips to and from bike share stations. The purpose of this research is to identify correlates of bike station activity, with special emphases on the association of trips to and from bike stations with the number of nearby businesses and jobs. Using data on 2011 trips from Nice Ride stations in Minneapolis-St. Paul, we introduce three ordinary least square regression models to evaluate the marginal effects of the presence of businesses on annual total station trips, trip origins and trip destinations. Our models include 19 variables in four general categories, including, in addition to the presence of different types of businesses and jobs, sociodemographic, built environment, and transportation infrastructure variables that are used as controls. Our result shows the number of trips at Nice Ride stations is positively and significantly associated with food-related destinations near the station and job accessibility but not with general retail establishments. Use of bike share stations also is correlated with race, age, proximity to the central business district, proximity to water, accessibility to trails, and distance to other bike share stations. This research is important for planners, academics, and policymakers because the findings will facilitate the understanding of bike share operations, help planners locate new stations, evaluate the potential of implementing new bike share programs, assess economic activity associated with bike share trips, and minimize costs of operations.
Recurring issues in the social sciences concern the distribution of public facilities such as parks and equity of access to them. Geographers have observed that access has perceptual as well as physical dimensions and that perceptions of difference can affect use of public space. This study explores the nature of greenways as public space and a set of issues related to equity of access to greenway trails in Indianapolis, Indiana. The study uses proximity as a measure of access and simple GIS analyses of census and other data to assess equality of access. Evidence is provided that suggests that minorities and the poor have disproportionate access to trails. It is also shown that populations adjacent to the trails differ and that the populations along particular trails are segregated. Spatial differences in trail populations are associated with historic land use patterns and population movements within the city. The implications of the findings of difference for use of the greenways system are explored. Implications for management of the greenways systemincluding achievement of the goal of linking neighborhoods-are also discussed.
Trail traffic is significantly correlated with neighborhood characteristics. Health officials can use these findings to influence the design and location of trails and to maximize opportunities for increases in physical activity.
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