Planning and transportation professionals are promoting a variety of sustainable travel alternatives, such as public transit usage, walking, and cycling, as affordable transportation options to counter the negative effects of widespread car use. In their traditional form, these alternative transport modes do not always offer the flexibility or convenience of the car; therefore, innovative solutions have been developed to allow active and public transport to compete better with the car. Shared bicycle systems have been adopted by a growing number of cities and regions throughout the world, yet little is known about the users of the systems and their motivations. A survey was conducted in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the summer of 2010 to determine the factors that encouraged individuals to use the system and the elements that influenced frequency of use. The factor found to have the greatest effect on the likelihood for use of a shared bicycle system was the proximity of home to docking stations. Ownership of a yearly shared bicycle membership was associated with cyclists riding shared bicycles 15 additional times per year. Respondents indicated that they valued the shared bicycle's trendy status and the role that it could play in bicycle theft prevention. The potential of shared bicycle systems can be maximized by increasing the number of docking stations in residential neighborhoods and by emphasizing the popularity of shared bicycles and theft prevention in advertising campaigns.

In response to the environmental, economic, and social costs associated with overreliance on the automobile, planners and transportation professionals are promoting sustainable alternatives such as walking, cycling, and public transit, either as single modes or in combination. It has been argued that the marriage between cycling and transit presents opportunities for synergy by enlarging catchment areas of transit stations while drawing in new users to both of these green modes. However, because of the marginality of combining cycling and transit in North America, there is a shortage of reliable empirical studies in this area. The present study addressed this gap through an analysis of travel behavior and preferences related to cycle–transit (C-T) integration. An online survey was conducted in the region of Montreal, Canada, during the summer of 2010. The questionnaire included a section on Montreal's public bicycle sharing system, Bixi (bicycle taxi), and its potential for integration with transit. Three current or potential C-T user groups were identified through a factor–cluster analysis: current parking bike-and-riders, Bixi users, and car drivers. Bringing a bicycle on transit was the preferred form of integration; however, scenarios involving bicycle parking (or using a public bicycle) were likely to be used more regularly. To accommodate the greatest number of bicycle–transit trips, measures that facilitated parking at transit stops and those that enabled the bringing of bicycles on board transit vehicles were recommended in tandem.