Bringing bike share to a low-income community: lessons learned through community engagement, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2011.

BACKGROUND

High prevalence of physical inactivity contributes to adverse health outcomes. Active transportation (cycling or walking) is associated with better health outcomes, and bike-sharing programs can help communities increase use of active transportation.

COMMUNITY CONTEXT

The Minneapolis Health Department funded the Nice Ride Minnesota bike share system to expand to the Near North community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Near North is a diverse, low-income area of the city where residents experience health disparities, including disparities in physical activity levels.

METHODS

The installation of new bike share kiosks in Near North resulted in an environmental change to support physical activity. Community engagement was conducted pre-intervention only and consisted of focus groups, community meetings, and interviews. Postintervention data on bike share trips and subscribers were collected to assess intervention effectiveness.

OUTCOME

Focus group participants offered insights on facilitators and barriers to bike share and suggested system improvements. Community engagement efforts showed that Near North residents were positive about Nice Ride and wanted to use the system; however, the numbers of trips and subscriptions in Near North were low.

INTERPRETATION

Results show that the first season of the expansion was moderately successful in improving outreach efforts and adapting bike share to meet the needs of low-income populations. However, environmental change without adequate, ongoing community engagement may not be sufficient to result in behavior change.