Examining spatial equity of dockless shared bikes and e-bikes for residential and working populations

Shared micro-mobility is experiencing growing global popularity. Previous studies mainly explored the shared bike-associated spatial equity issue faced by the residential population in Western cities, often neglecting shared e-bike systems and the working population. This paper examines the equity performance of both shared bikes and shared e-bikes, and considers both residential and working populations in a Chinese city (i.e., Wenzhou). Utilising an accessibility-based framework integrating multi-source data like massive user-generated trip and mobile phone data, our results show that shared bikes provide better horizontal equity than e-bikes due to broader fleet availability and distribution. Vertical equity analysis reveals systematic disparities between residential and working populations. Among working populations, individuals aged 19–29 enjoy better access to shared e-bikes, while those aged 50–59 face consistently lower accessibility across both bike types. In contrast, among residents, the 50–59 age group show relatively higher accessibility, whereas younger residents (19–29) encounter limitations, particularly for shared e-bikes. Non-local populations are disadvantaged in both modes, and female users exhibit slightly higher accessibility. This study provides valuable insights into the micro-mobility equity in Asian urban contexts, offering implications for policy-making and planning to develop sustainable and equitable micro-mobility systems.