IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i12p5011-d1413416.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Platformisation of Cycling—The Development of Bicycle-Sharing Systems in China: Innovation, Urban and Social Regeneration and Sustainability

Author

Listed:
  • Giovannipaolo Ferrari

    (DISUFF—Department of Human, Philosophic and Education Sciences, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
    CeRIES—Centre de Recherches “Individus, Épreuves, Sociétés”, Laboratoire de Recherche en Sociologie—ULR 3589, Université de Lille, 59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq, France)

  • Yingxin Tan

    (FISPPA—Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education, and Applied Psychology, University of Padua, 35139 Padova, Italy)

  • Paolo Diana

    (DISUFF—Department of Human, Philosophic and Education Sciences, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy)

  • Maria Palazzo

    (Department of Economics, Universitas Mercatorum, 00186 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

In recent years, the widespread introduction of bike-sharing systems in China has had a profound impact on the daily lives of Chinese citizens and the development of the urban transport system. This article attempts to analyse the impact of this phenomenon on sustainability. The gradual improvement of related monitoring measures has facilitated the maturation of the bike-sharing industry from the initial stage of uncontrolled growth to the current stage of standardised management. By tracing the global development of bike-sharing systems with a special focus on China, this study sheds light on the platformisation of bicycles and their multiple impacts on technical, environmental, cultural, economic and social sustainability. Furthermore, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the transformation of bicycles in China and highlights the diverse impacts of platform-based bike sharing on various facets of Chinese society. The development of different bike-sharing systems in China is a unique and crucial case to interpret the current situation of bike sharing and imagine future scenarios. In contrast to the prevailing and uniform approach derived from the experiences of Northern European countries, the massive and widespread experimentation with different bike-sharing schemes in China reveals not only potentials and aspects of sustainability, innovation, and urban and social regeneration, but also some hidden shadows similar to those in small-scale contexts such as Northern Europe. Furthermore, this study emphasises the crucial role of sustainable development principles in addressing the urban challenges specific to China.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovannipaolo Ferrari & Yingxin Tan & Paolo Diana & Maria Palazzo, 2024. "The Platformisation of Cycling—The Development of Bicycle-Sharing Systems in China: Innovation, Urban and Social Regeneration and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-13, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:12:p:5011-:d:1413416
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/12/5011/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/12/5011/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qianling Jiang & Sheng-Jung Ou & Wei Wei, 2019. "Why Shared Bikes of Free-Floating Systems Were Parked Out of Order? A Preliminary Study based on Factor Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-17, June.
    2. Gössling, Stefan & Choi, Andy S., 2015. "Transport transitions in Copenhagen: Comparing the cost of cars and bicycles," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 106-113.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gössling, Stefan, 2016. "Urban transport justice," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1-9.
    2. Conny Grunicke & Jan Christian Schluter & Jani-Pekka Jokinen, 2020. "Implementation of a cost-benefit analysis of Demand-Responsive Transport with a Multi-Agent Transport Simulation," Papers 2011.12869, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2021.
    3. AlSabbagh, Maha & Siu, Yim Ling & Guehnemann, Astrid & Barrett, John, 2017. "Integrated approach to the assessment of CO2e-mitigation measures for the road passenger transport sector in Bahrain," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 203-215.
    4. Echeverría, Lucía & Giménez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & Alberto Molina, José, 2022. "Who uses green mobility? Exploring profiles in developed countries," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 247-265.
    5. Echeverría, Lucía & Gimenez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2021. "Carpooling: User profiles and well-being," Nülan. Deposited Documents 3568, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Centro de Documentación.
    6. Michał Adam Kwiatkowski & Daniela Szymańska, 2021. "Cycling policy in strategic documents of Polish cities," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 10357-10377, July.
    7. Su, Duan & Wang, Yacan & Yang, Nan & Wang, Xianghong, 2020. "Promoting considerate parking behavior in dockless bike-sharing: An experimental study," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 153-165.
    8. Suah Kim & Namjo Kim, 2020. "A Social Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Vehicle Restriction Policy for Reducing Overtourism in Udo, Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, January.
    9. Dandan Xu & Yang Bian & Jian Rong & Jiachuan Wang & Baocai Yin, 2019. "Study on Clustering of Free-Floating Bike-Sharing Parking Time Series in Beijing Subway Stations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-20, September.
    10. Wang, Yacan & Yang, Ying & Wang, Jiaping & Douglas, Matthew & Su, Duan, 2021. "Examining the influence of social norms on orderly parking behavior of dockless bike-sharing users," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 284-296.
    11. Guillermo Mateu & Alberto Sanz, 2021. "Public Policies to Promote Sustainable Transports: Lessons from Valencia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.
    12. Ralph Chapman & Michael Keall & Philippa Howden-Chapman & Mark Grams & Karen Witten & Edward Randal & Alistair Woodward, 2018. "A Cost Benefit Analysis of an Active Travel Intervention with Health and Carbon Emission Reduction Benefits," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-10, May.
    13. José Alberto Molina & J. Ignacio Giménez-Nadal & Jorge Velilla, 2020. "Sustainable Commuting: Results from a Social Approach and International Evidence on Carpooling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-12, November.
    14. Kearns, Michelle & Ledsham, Trudy & Savan, Beth & Scott, James, 2019. "Increasing cycling for transportation through mentorship programs," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 34-45.
    15. Kwiatkowski Michał Adam, 2018. "Urban Cycling as an Indicator of Socio-Economic Innovation and Sustainable Transport," Quaestiones Geographicae, Sciendo, vol. 37(4), pages 23-32, December.
    16. Michael Szell, 2018. "Crowdsourced Quantification and Visualization of Urban Mobility Space Inequality," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 3(1), pages 1-20.
    17. Caitriona Corr & Niamh Murphy & Barry Lambe, 2023. "Harnessing Systems Science and Co-Creation Techniques to Develop a Theory of Change towards Sustainable Transport," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-22, October.
    18. Giménez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2019. "Green commuting and gasoline taxes in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 324-331.
    19. Bimala Sharma & Hae Kweun Nam & Wanglin Yan & Ha Yun Kim, 2019. "Barriers and Enabling Factors Affecting Satisfaction and Safety Perception with Use of Bicycle Roads in Seoul, South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-10, March.
    20. Mengmeng Shi & Xin Tian & Xiaowen Li & Binghong Pan, 2023. "The Impact of Parallel U-Turns on Urban Intersection: Evidence from Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-23, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:12:p:5011-:d:1413416. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.