People of color and low-income residents of major cities are far less likely to use bike sharing systems than their white and higher-income counterparts.
But researchers at Portland State University say that situation could change if cities addressed areas of safety, ridership cost and other factors that keep those groups from using bike sharing.
The research team, led by PSU’s Nathan McNeil and Jennifer Dill, surveyed residents of Philadelphia, Chicago and Brooklyn.
One reason persons of color and low-income residents in those cities said they did not use bike share programs was because of fear of traffic and concerns for their personal safety, including fear of harassment or becoming a victim of a crime.
The report makes several suggestions for improving ridership among minorities and low-income residents, including discounts and other cost-saving measures. It also suggests greater public relations efforts to let those populations know how to use bike share and how to access available discounts.
McNeil says the Equity Focus Program from Biketown in Portland is already trying to provide lower cost bike share. He says they’re doing a lot of the things here that would make a system more equitable and more effective.
Those findings by the PSU’s Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) were prepared for the National Institute for Transportation and Communities in a report titled “Breaking Barriers to Bike Share: Insights from Residents of Traditionally Undeserved Neighborhoods”.