A taxpayer-subsidized bike-share system that’s mostly used by relatively wealthy and well-educated white folks isn’t equitable. But that’s the situation with Chicago’s Divvy network. A 2015 Chicago Department of Transportation questionnaire found that 79 percent of responding members were non-Hispanic whites, most of them had middle to upper incomes, and 93 percent had college degrees. These lopsided numbers are in line with those from bike-share systems in other cities such as Washington, D.C., Boston, and Denver.
The researchers talked to people in lower-income communities of color, including Bronzeville on Chicago’s south side, and identified a number of issues that will need to be addressed if the demographics of bike-share ridership are going to expand. Residents expressed concerns about traffic safety, crime, police harassment, financial barriers, and liability for the bikes. The survey also revealed that many residents in these neighborhoods are unclear about how the systems work, and showed there’s a need for more one-on-one outreach regarding the mobility, health, and economic benefits of using bike-share programs.
Lack of information or misconceptions about how bike-share programs work are also big barriers for this demographic. For 34 percent of lower-income black and Latino residents, not knowing enough about their local network was an obstacle to using it, compared to 19 percent of higher-income respondents of color, and a mere 7 percent of higher-income white residents. Common misconceptions about bike sharing included the notions that helmets are mandatory to use the bikes in these cities, and that credit cards are the only payment option (you can pay for a $5 D4E membership with cash). Surprisingly, 21 percent of respondents thought that the wheels of bike-share cycles will lock up if the rider exceeds the time limit.
“Breaking Barriers” is the second report of a larger three-phase research project between Portland State and Better Bike Share Partnership called Evaluating Efforts to Improve the Equity of Bike Share Systems, which also includes an overview, released earlier this month, of how U.S. systems are addressing the diversity issue, and an upcoming study based on surveys of current bike-share users.
