Todd, James;
(2022)
Bicycle Sharing Systems: Fast and Slow Urban Mobility Dynamics.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
In cities all around the world, new forms of urban micromobility have observed rapid and wide-scale adoption due to their benefits as a shared mode that are environmentally friendly, convenient and accessible. Bicycle sharing systems are the most established among these modes, facilitating complete end-to-end journeys as well as forming a solution for the first/last mile issue that public transportation users face in getting to and from transit stations. They mark the beginnings of a gradual transition towards a more sustainable transportation model that include greater use of shared and active modes. As such, understanding the way in which these systems are used is essential in order to improve their management and efficiency. Given the lack of operator published data, this thesis aims to explore the utility of open bicycle sharing system data standards that are intended for real-time dissemination of bicycle locations in uncovering novel insights into their activity dynamics over varying temporal and geographical scales. The thesis starts by exploring bicycle sharing systems at a global-scale, uncovering their long-term growth and evolution through the development of data cleaning and metric creation heuristics that also form the foundations of the most comprehensive classification of systems. Having established the values of these metrics in conducting comparisons at scale, the thesis then analyses the medium-term impacts of mobility interventions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, employing spatio-temporal and network analysis methods that highlight their adaptability and resilience. Finally, the thesis closes with the analysis of granular spatial and temporal dynamics within a dockless system in London that enable the identification of the variations in journey locations throughout different times of the day. In each of these cases, the research highlights the indispensable value of open data and the important role that bicycle sharing systems play in urban mobility.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Bicycle Sharing Systems: Fast and Slow Urban Mobility Dynamics |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2022. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| Keywords: | quantitative human geography, data science, bicycle sharing systems, urban mobility dynamics |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of Geography |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10161120 |
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