Can an e-bike share system increase awareness and consideration of e-bikes as a commute mode? Results from a natural experiment

Abstract

Electric-assisted bicycles (e-bikes) may encourage commuters to shift from car to bike by improving perceptions of bicycling safety and increasing destination accessibility. Awareness of e-bikes is an important first step toward more widespread adoption. This article uses a natural experiment design to examine the impact of the implementation of an e-bike share system in Davis, CA, on awareness of e-bikes and consideration of the use of e-bikes for commuting. We use data from three cross-sectional surveys of employees at the University of California, Davis, to estimate the effect of the opening of the e-bike system on changes in awareness and consideration and examine other important factors associated with these outcomes. The results suggest that a shared e-bike system can substantially increase awareness of e-bikes, but that additional strategies may be needed to convert awareness into consideration of the use of e-bikes for commuting.

Keywords:

• Bicycle commuting
• bike share
• e-bicycling
• e-bikes
• electric-assisted bicycles

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Jonathan Weinert for his comments on early drafts of this research. Thanks to all the participants, to Albee Wei for administering the 2017–18 UC Davis Campus Travel Survey, to Amy Lee for administering the 2018–19 and 2019–20 UC Davis Campus Travel Surveys, and to UC Davis Transportation and Parking Services for their support.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded in part by donations from Bosch, USA.