Posts Tagged: Sunday Stats

12
Jun

2011

Is Bike-Sharing Effective? Sunday Morning Stats With Nick Chu

We live in a golden age of bike-sharing schemes. But is this interesting form of public transportation effective? Like most things, the answer isn't as simple as 'yes' or 'no.'

A quick look at some of the things that make bike-sharing work (or not):

Number of bike share programs worldwide: 200

Number of bike-sharing schemes earning yearly profits: 0

Number of US cities with Bike Share programs: 10

Number of bikes in Washington’s bike share program: 1,000

Number of members: 12,000

Cost of subsidization per bicycle: $7,000

Expected number of bikes in New York’s scheme next year: 10,000

Number bikes in Paris Velib: 20,000

Percentage of original bikes destroyed/stolen: 80

Percentage of bikes stolen/vandalized in Edmonton’s People’s Pedal program: 95

Year Hangzhou bike share started: 2008

Number of bikes in 2008: 2,800

Stations: 61

Distance between docking stations: ¼ mile

Number of bike share bicycles in Hangzhou today: 50,000

By 2020: 175,000

Main clients: Tourists

Number of annual tourists in Hangzhou: 20 million

Number of annual tourists in London: 15 million

Month Guangzhou officials discussed implementing bike share: May 2010

Month bike share launched: June 2010

 



Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

05
Jun

2011

Does Free Public Transportation Work? Sunday Morning Stats with Nick Chu

Does making public transportation free automatically cause a net benefit? Debate is split and seems highly contingent on cultural context. Image by flickr user Velobry.

A quick look at some of the things that make free public transportation work (or not):

Arguably, the most successful free public transportation initiatives in the world: Hasselt, Belgium

Year free public transportation was first implemented there: 1996

Cost per household to implement free transportation in Hasselt: 22.64 Euros ($32 USD)

Urban bus rides per year before free public transportation in Hasselt: 331,551

After free public transportation: 3,200,000

Percentage of bus users that are new bus users: 37%

Percentage that were former bus users: 63%

Percentage that were former car drivers: 16%

Highest percentage of revenue collected by a United States public transportation system going specifically towards fare collection costs: 22%

Typical farebox recovery rate in small US transit systems: <10%

Percentage increase in ridership with 100% decrease in fares: 30%

Cost of collecting fares from transit riders in New York City: $200 million

Percentage drop in transit ridership for every 10% increase in fares: 3.8%

Cost of collecting fares in Skagit Transit in Washington State: $133,385

Total fares collected on Skagit Transit: $121,300

Last large metropolitan city in North America to try free transit: Austin, Texas

Percentage ridership increase: 75%

Cost per rider in Austin, Texas prior to fare-free experiment: $2.51

Cost per rider during 15 months of fare-free: $1.51

Percentage increase in auto-users using free bus service: 0%

Number of physical assaults before fare-free: 44

After: 120

Percent of Austin transit drivers who petitioned to discontinue free transit program: 75%

Year discontinued: 1990



Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.