Appraising the market for bicycle sharing schemes: Perceived service quality, satisfaction, and behavioural intention in London

Abstract

The implementation of bicycle sharing schemes represents an important innovation in urban public transport since the turn of the millennium. These schemes have spread rapidly and are now present in cities with varying economic, environmental, and structural conditions. Developing strategies through which to attract new members to join the scheme and retain existing members is a fundamental requirement for scheme success. The research reported in this paper provides guidance on this issue through a case study appraisal of the experiences that existing members have with the London Bicycle Sharing Scheme. This appraisal focuses on how the quality of service is perceived by members, their overall level of satisfaction with the scheme, their behavioural intentions toward renewing their memberships, and their willingness to recommend the scheme to others. A market segmentation analysis is produced which identifies the presence of four heterogeneous member groups. These member segments are profiled according to their demographic, psychographic, and behavioural characteristics. Through a detailed appreciation of the defining features of these member segments, strategies are proposed which are tailored to their specific needs and expectations.

How to Save Bike-Sharing: An Evidence-Based Survival Toolkit for Policy-Makers and Mobility Providers

“…The scheme, after incremental strategic expansions, now spreads across 100 km 2 of London and is the largest cycle hire scheme in Europe, with 11,500 bicycles available across 750 docking stations [65]. It has approximately 240,000 active members making over 10 million annual bicycle hires, and its continued expansion is viewed as a central component of the Mayor's policy to transform London's transport system into one which is based on sustainable modes [66]. Therefore, the scheme is subsidised and promoted heavily by Transport for London and is well-linked with all the public transport modes of the city.…”

Factors influencing the acceptance and use of a bicycle sharing system: Applying an extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)

“…In recent years increasing bicycle use is considered as a solution for traffic issues. Commuting by bicycle can help to make the transport system more sustainable because demands little energy and other resources, and has a range of health, accessibility, environmental and socioeconomic advantages (Midgley, 2011;Bernatchez et al, 2015;Karki and Tao, 2016;Morton, 2018). Providing rental bicycles and bicycle sharing systems (BSSs) is one of the policies of governments for removing the obstacles of cycling in cities and encourage people to ride bicycles.…”

Effects of Psychological Factors on Modal Shift from Car to Dockless Bike Sharing: A Case Study of Nanjing, China

“…The increasing number of private vehicles across the globe has caused great social and environmental problems such as noise, traffic congestion, and air pollution [1]. In response to this, bike-sharing systems have been adopted to reduce the use of private cars in short-distance trips [2,3,4,5]. Previous studies have shown that bike sharing is flexible, economical, and good for health; it helps cut down emissions, ease congestion, and reduce fuel usage; and it also supports multimodal transport connections [6,7,8,9].…”