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Fishman, Washington & Haworth 3 1 built environment that support walking, cycling and public transport (e.g. bicycle paths). 2 Public bicycle share schemes contain elements of both these approaches, as they require 3 significant promotional campaigns, as well as the provision of infrastructure (bicycles, 4 docking stations and signage). 5 Although the rapid growth of PBSS is encouraging from a sustainable transport 6 perspective, very little research has been undertaken to determine their potentially broad 7 impact on transport behavior and consequently, it is difficult to understand the performance 8 of PBSS in terms of reduced emissions and congestion, as well as possible increases in 9 physical activity. 10 This paper builds on current knowledge by describing for the first time an evaluation 11 framework for measuring the overall performance of PBSS. This framework will provide, 12 through future work, the ability to identify and measure the relative importance of factors 13 affecting the level of success of PBSS. These factors, such as location of docking stations, 14 number and availability of bicycles, relative attractiveness as a travel mode, extent of 15 complementary bicycle infrastructure, and safety concerns will be addressed in a separate 16 paper as a result of implementing this proposed framework. 17 LITERATURE ON PUBLIC BICYCLE SCHEMES 18 Public bicycle share schemes have existed for almost 50 years, although the last decade has 19 seen a sharp increase in both their prevalence and popularity, as illustrated recently by 20 Shaheen et al. [6]. In their overview of the state of PBSS globally, Shaheen et al. [6] provide 21 data on the size of various systems, but the current pace of activity is such that published 22 statistics rapidly become outdated. For instance, Washington D.C. is quoted as having 120 23 public bikes in 2010 and whilst this was accurate at the time of publication, a new system has 24 since been established, Capital Bikeshare (CaBi), with 1,112 bicycles [8]. 25 Shaheen et al. [6] summarize the benefits as: 26 Emission reductions 27 Reduced congestion and fuel use 28 Flexible mobility 29 Individual financial savings 30 Health benefits 31 Support for multimodal transport connections, by acting as a ‘last mile’ 32 connection to public transport. 3334 Implicit in the first two listed benefits is the assumption that a significant proportion 35 of users are transferring to public bicycle from single occupant car use. Research from China 36 indicates that a large proportion (around 80%) of those using PBSS would have otherwise 37 walked, used public transit, or traveled on their own bicycle if the PBSS was not available 38 [9]. Given the low level of car use in Chinese cities relative to the West, it is not surprising 39 that there have been modest shifts from car users towards PBSS; however, the sheer 40 magnitude of some of the Chinese schemes may translate to significant impacts. 41 Modal share changes occurring in Western PBSS are of key interest, given the 42 expressed need to decrease the level of private motor vehicle use in these cities. A recent 43 study of the Dublin scheme [10] found that 15% of users would not have made the trip had it 44 not been for the PBSS. Of those changing modes, 66% had previously walked, 7% shifted 45 from private car, 14% previously rode public transit and 11% migrated from private bicycles. 46 Confirming a view commonly expressed in the literature, Murphy found that 55% of PBSS 47 users are chaining trips. Walking was the most common linking mode, with 42% of the 55% 48 indicating they walked more than 500m in combination with bicycle share use. The TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
