The potential modal shift and health benefits of implementing a public bicycle share program in Montreal, Canada

Abstract

BackgroundThis study estimated the modal shift associated with the implementation of a public bicycle share program in Montreal, Canada.MethodsA population-based sample of adults participated in two cross sectional telephone surveys. Self-reported travel behaviors were collected at the end of the first (fall 2009) and second (fall 2010) season of implementation. The sample included 2502 (Mean age=47.8 years, 61.8% female), and 2509 (Mean age=48.9 years, 59.0% female) adult respondents in each survey.ResultsThe estimated modal shift associated with the implementation of the PBSP from motor vehicle use to walking, cycling, and public transportation was 6483 and 8023 trips in 2009 and 2010. This change represents 0.34% and 0.43% of all motor vehicle trips in Montreal.ConclusionsThe implementation of a PBSP was associated with a shift toward active transportation. The modal shift was complex and not simply the result of a discrete shift from one mode to another. Promotion of active transportation should encourage integration of multiple active transportation modes to better reflect people’s actual transportation behaviors.

Bikeshare’s impact on active travel: Evidence from the United States, Great Britain, and Australia

“…This is consistent with a study of the Montreal bikeshare program (Fuller et al, 2013b). London has the lowest level of car substitution, which is broadly in line with the lower proportion of trips undertaken by car, relative to the other cities included in this analysis.…”

“…Bikeshare's impact on health is an area of increasing interest to researchers (Fuller et al, 2013b;Rojas-Rueda et al, 2011;Woodcock et al, 2014). Implicit in many of the benefits attributed to bikeshare is an assumption that bikeshare journeys frequently replace trips previously made by car.…”

“…The benefits for both sexes were larger for older ages groups. In another study, Fuller et al (2013b) conducted a cross sectional telephone survey with some 2500 individuals before and after the implementation of the BIXI bikeshare program in Montreal, to determine the potential mode shift and health benefit of the program. Although the impacts were modest, the authors were able to conclude that BIXI was associated with a shift towards active transport.…”

Tool for assessing health and equity impacts of interventions modifying air quality in urban environments

“…Built environment interventions such as BIXI often have the principal aim of improving health through the pathway of increasing physical activity (Fishman, Washington, & Haworth, 2012;Fuller, Gauvin, Kestens, Morency, & Drouin, 2013) but may also have an effect through the reduction of outdoor air pollution, which is also of interest for decision makers. In fact, both pathways contribute to reducing cardiovascular and respiratory disease.…”

Major issues for biking revival in urban China

“…In China, government sponsored bike-share programs emerged in an era of fast motorization (Liu & Guan, 2005) and the movement for low carbon cities globe-wide (Fuller, Gauvin, Kestens, Morency, & Drouin, 2013). Congestion stemming from rapidly expanding automobile population is pushing large metropolitan cities to try this old-style mobility in a new manner.…”