Extending Vancouver's Public Bike Share system: a GIS analysis

The purpose of this project has been to locate areas of Vancouver that would be suitable for a public bike share system (PBS) if the City of Vancouver ever decides to expand the system outside the currently proposed borders. The GIS multi-criteria analysis, which weighed seven different physical and socio-cultural factors of the city, showed the best 5 percent of the study area to be largely clustered at the northern end of the city in the Kitsilano, Fairview, Mount Pleasant and Commercial Drive neighbourhoods - neighbourhoods which surround the area that will be serviced by a PBS as of 2014. Since this is the case, it seems that a good strategy for spreading the PBS across the city would be to expand it radially outward from the area between Arbutus Street, 12th Avenue and Main Street. Another prime area for a PBS, according to this analysis, is the corridor between Oak Street to the west and Fraser Street to the East, until approximately 41st Street to the south. Extending the PBS into these areas of the city in the future might assist Vancouver in reaching its goal of becoming the most sustainable city in the world by 2020 while maintaining the bike sharing system's client base and economic viability.

 

Works Cited

 

City of Vancouver (2013). Public bike share system. Retrieved from http://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/public-bike-   share-system.aspx

 

City of Vancouver (2013). Greenest city 2020: A bright green future. Retrieved from https://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/a-bright-green-future.aspx 

 

Handy, S., Xing, Y., & Buehler, T. (2010). Factors associated with bicycle ownership and use: A study of six small U.S. cities. Transportation, 37, 967-985. doi 10.1007/s11116-010-9269-x

 

Rietveld, P. & Daniel, V. (2004). Determinants of bicycle use: Do municialities matter? Transportation Research Part A, 38, 531-550. doi 10.1016/j.tra.2004.05.003

 

Statistics Canada. (2013). Dissemination area (DA). Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/92-195-x/2011001/geo/da-ad/da-ad-eng.htm

 

Vandenbulcke, G., Dujardin, C., Thomas, I., de Geus, B., Degraeuwe, B., Meeusen, R. & Int Panis, L. (2011). Cycle commuting in Belgium: Spatial determinants and 're-cycling' strategies. Transportation Research Part A, 45, 118-137. doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2010.11.004

 

Winters, M., Davidson, G., Kao, D. & Teschke, K. (2011). Motivators and deterrents of bicycling: Comparing influences on decisions to ride. Transportation, 38, 153-168. doi: 10.1007/211116-0109284-y