Exploring socio-spatial inequalities in station-based bike-sharing schemes

Station based bicycle-sharing schemes have been used to promote cycling and contribute with environmental, health, economic and social benefits. But it is not clear if these schemes are accessible to all population groups in terms of income, gender, age and education, in spite of being publicly owned. The location of the stations seems to have an impact on inequalities. In this seminar we will explore the spatial dimension of bike sharing equity in two case studies: the first case study looks into 5 cities in Brazil. The second case study applies a similar evaluation methodology to the case of Barcelona, Spain, and expands the concept to the cycle network. The results in both cases are different, which highlights the importance of certain contextual variables and demands for further research. An index to measure spatial inequalities of cycling networks is proposed for the case of Barcelona, with the aim of generating an evaluation tool for its use in policy-making.