Unlocking Trends: Socio-Demographic Insights into Bike Sharing from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey

Abstract

The implementation of bike-sharing systems represents a novel strategy aimed at enhancing urban mobility by offering shared bicycle services to improve accessibility and user convenience. Nevertheless, there has been a limited exploration into the user demographics of bike-sharing programs on a national scale. This study investigates the socio-demographic characteristics of bike-sharing system users, leveraging the 2017 National Household Travel Survey and negative binomial regression models. It finds that bike-sharing usage is more common among users than non-users, with African American and Hispanic individuals using the system more than other racial groups. Furthermore, low-income individuals (<USD 15,000) and residents of high-density areas (≥25,000 per square mile) show a higher tendency towards bike sharing. The research highlights the lack of national-level studies on bike-sharing user demographics and suggests that future policy and planning should address the needs of specific populations, aiming to enhance urban mobility and accessibility through bike-sharing services.