Bike-Sharing Station Usage and the Surrounding Built Environments in Major Texas Cities.

Abstract

This study analyzes the effect of different built environments on bike-share usage in nascent dock-based systems in three Texas cities. Past research offers little insight as to whether elements associated with higher bicycle usage in major cities affect ridership in secondary, developing bike-share markets within lower density American cities. In Austin and Houston, a positive relationship emerges between bike-share usage and proximity to high-comfort bicycle facilities. All three cities demonstrated surprisingly minimal relationship between bike-share usage and other proven drivers of bicycling activity in urban areas, which may result from system design for leisure- and recreation-based trips.