Bike Sharing and the Economy, the Environment, and Health-Related Externalities

TLDR

Bike‑sharing has expanded rapidly, yet its externalities on traffic, environment, health, and society remain contested and difficult to quantify. The study quantitatively estimates bike‑sharing externalities on the economy, energy use, environment, and public health in China. Using quantitative analysis of Chinese bike‑sharing data, the authors estimate its effects on economic activity, energy consumption, environmental emissions, and public health. The results show that bike‑sharing generates significant positive externalities, reducing traffic and energy use, lowering emissions, improving public health, and boosting economic growth, thereby informing urban transportation policy.

Abstract

In recent years, bike-sharing has experienced rapid development; however, controversies about the externalities of bike-sharing programs have arisen as well. While bike-sharing programs have impacts on traffic, the environment, and public health, the social impacts, the management, and sustainable development of bike-sharing has also been of interest. The debate regards whether there are externalities, as well as whether and how such externalities can be determined. Based on the rapidly diffused bike-sharing in China, this paper quantitatively explores bike-sharing externalities. Specifically, this paper estimates the impacts of bike-sharing on the economy, energy use, the environment, and public health. The empirical results show that bike-sharing programs have significant positive externalities. The bike-sharing systems can provide urban residents with a convenient and time-saving travel mode. We find that the bike-sharing dramatically decreases traffic, reduces energy consumption, decreasing harmful gas emissions, improves public health generally, and promotes economic growth. This study contributes to a better comprehension of the externalities of bike-sharing and provides empirical evidence of the impacts of bike-sharing. Findings suggest that bike-sharing can play a critical role in the process of urban transportation development and provide information useful for urban transportation policies.