Free-floating bikesharing in Vienna – A user behaviour analysis

Free-floating bikesharing (FFBS) is a fairly new mobility service. It spread rapidly throughout Europe’s major urban areas in 2017; a development accompanied by a variety of problems that soon culminated in a retreat of providers from most cities. The main characteristic of FFBS is the absence of fixed docking stations; instead, users can borrow and leave the bikes wherever they want as long as they adhere to traffic rules and the operators’ regulations. Its market entry has caused controversial public debates, although – or even because – little is known about this new mobility service, its users, their motivators as well as usage patterns. One of the FFBS pioneer cities in Europe was Vienna with two FFBS operators providing their services from summer 2017 onwards. Although both withdrew from the city within a year, it was possible to collect and analyse user data in order to gain an understanding of the factors supporting FFBS usage. For this purpose, the research uses a series of discrete choice models explaining why some people (i) share bikes (including FFBS and the established Viennese station-based scheme), (ii) try out the new FFBS scheme and (iii) remain with the new FFBS scheme or quit the membership. Reasons for users to try FFBS are very similar to those of station-based bikesharing as reported in literature. Subjective factors including attitudes and degree of satisfaction with system features are gaining in importance within the series of models. They are particularly decisive for remaining with the FFBS scheme.