Jobe Jeffrey, Griffin Greg P
Department of Architecture, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 78207, USA.
Transp Res Interdiscip Perspect. 2021 Jun;10:100353. doi: 10.1016/j.trip.2021.100353. Epub 2021 Mar 19.
Bike sharing can leverage its physical distancing advantages for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, but system management and communication are essential to support healthy transportation. This study addresses the need to understand the range of bike share systems' responses to the pandemic by reviewing bike share system cases in the United States and reports survey responses from bike share users in San Antonio (TX). Five out of eleven bike share systems communicated their responses to the pandemic online at the time of review. 43% of survey respondents who were unemployed due to the pandemic reported increasing use of the bike share system, whereas 36% of employed respondents decreased ridership. Most respondents were unaware of the bike share operator's steps to control the spread of COVID-19 for users. Moderate-frequency riders (1-2 times per month) may increase bike sharing the most after Coronavirus restrictions are lifted, from 22% of respondents to 34%. Based on our findings, we suggest bike share operators should expand communication efforts about policies and actions to support community health, explore how to serve unemployed and low-income communities best, and prepare for the equitable expansion of ridership following the pandemic.
共享单车可以利用其保持身体距离的优势来应对新冠疫情，但系统管理和沟通对于支持健康出行至关重要。本研究通过回顾美国共享单车系统案例，探讨了解共享单车系统对疫情的应对范围的必要性，并报告了德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市共享单车用户的调查反馈。在审查时，11个共享单车系统中有5个在网上公布了它们对疫情的应对措施。因疫情失业的受访者中有43%表示增加了对共享单车系统的使用，而有工作的受访者中有36%减少了骑行次数。大多数受访者并不了解共享单车运营商为用户控制新冠病毒传播所采取的措施。中等骑行频率（每月1 - 2次）的用户在新冠疫情限制解除后可能增加共享单车使用的幅度最大，从22%的受访者增加到34%。基于我们的研究结果，我们建议共享单车运营商应加大关于支持社区健康的政策和行动的宣传力度，探索如何更好地服务失业和低收入社区，并为疫情后乘客数量的公平增长做好准备。
