Abstract
The purpose of this study was to analyze the bikesharing trends in the U.S. and identify the main ridership determinants that were relevant for their success and performance in large and small cities. The study examined the effect of demographic, socio-economic, transportation network, built environment, and climate factors on ridership by conducting a regression analysis at the station level in the cities of Boston and Chattanooga. Furthermore, the study analyzed the overall system efficiency and popularity index of nine bikesharing systems at the city level. The system characteristic data were collected through an electronic survey and email communication with 21 current programs in the U.S. and the most current data from the International Bikeshare Database and also the programs annual or quarterly reports. Variables related to population demographics, socioeconomic, and transportation network were collected from 2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-year estimates at the census bock level. The data were aggregated around a 500-meter buffer encircling each bikeshare station using GIS software. The result showed the number of alternative commuters, number of colleges or universities, length of existing bikeways, number of residents with graduate degree or higher and the household income could positively affect the ridership, and adversely the non-white population had a slightly negative impact on ridership. Moreover, the study found the integration of public transit with bikeshare is an essential factor for success in larger cities with a more developed transit network. In small cities with less dense downtowns and fewer public transit options, visitor and tourist bicyclists could contribute to improve the system overall ridership. Furthermore, the bicycle infrastructure seems to be a key determinant of ridership in all sizes and types of jurisdictions.