IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/arx/papers/2202.12405.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Can autonomy make bicycle-sharing systems more sustainable? Environmental impact analysis of an emerging mobility technology

Author

Listed:
  • Naroa Coretti Sanchez
  • Luis Alonso Pastor
  • Kent Larson

Abstract

Autonomous bicycles have recently been proposed as a new and more efficient approach to bicycle-sharing systems (BSS), but the corresponding environmental implications remain unresearched. Conducting environmental impact assessments at an early technological stage is critical to influencing the design and, ultimately, environmental impacts of a system. Consequently, this paper aims to assess the environmental impact of autonomous shared bikes compared with current station-based and dockless systems under different sets of modeling hypotheses and mode-shift scenarios. The results indicate that autonomy could reduce the environmental impact per passenger kilometer traveled of current station-based and dockless BSS by 33.1 % and 58.0 %. The sensitivity analysis shows that the environmental impact of autonomous shared bicycles will mainly depend on vehicle usage rates and the need for infrastructure. Finally, this study highlights the importance of targeting the mode replacement from more polluting modes, especially as traditional mobility modes decarbonize and become more efficient.

Suggested Citation

  • Naroa Coretti Sanchez & Luis Alonso Pastor & Kent Larson, 2022. "Can autonomy make bicycle-sharing systems more sustainable? Environmental impact analysis of an emerging mobility technology," Papers 2202.12405, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2202.12405
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://arxiv.org/pdf/2202.12405
    File Function: Latest version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Itf, 2020. "Good to Go? Assessing the Environmental Performance of New Mobility," International Transport Forum Policy Papers 86, OECD Publishing.
    2. Anne de Bortoli, 2021. "Environmental performance of shared micromobility and personal alternatives using integrated modal LCA," Papers 2103.04464, arXiv.org.
    3. Benjamin Leard, Joshua Linn, and Clayton Munnings, 2019. "Explaining the Evolution of Passenger Vehicle Miles Traveled in the United States," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    4. Fanying Zheng & Fu Gu & Wujie Zhang & Jianfeng Guo, 2019. "Is Bicycle Sharing an Environmental Practice? Evidence from a Life Cycle Assessment Based on Behavioral Surveys," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-25, March.
    5. Joule A. Bergerson & Adam Brandt & Joe Cresko & Michael Carbajales‐Dale & Heather L. MacLean & H. Scott Matthews & Sean McCoy & Marcelle McManus & Shelie A. Miller & William R. Morrow & I. Daniel Pose, 2020. "Life cycle assessment of emerging technologies: Evaluation techniques at different stages of market and technical maturity," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(1), pages 11-25, February.
    6. Shaheen, Susan PhD & Martin, Elliot PhD & Cohen, Adam, 2013. "Public Bikesharing and Modal Shift Behavior: A Comparative Study of Early Bikesharing Systems in North America," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt7010k9p3, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    7. Jian-gang Shi & Hongyun Si & Guangdong Wu & Yangyue Su & Jing Lan, 2018. "Critical Factors to Achieve Dockless Bike-Sharing Sustainability in China: A Stakeholder-Oriented Network Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-16, June.
    8. Shouheng Sun, 2021. "How Does the Collaborative Economy Advance Better Product Lifetimes? A Case Study of Free-Floating Bike Sharing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-22, January.
    9. Ricardo Javier Bonilla‐Alicea & Bryan C. Watson & Ziheng Shen & Laura Tamayo & Cassandra Telenko, 2020. "Life cycle assessment to quantify the impact of technology improvements in bike‐sharing systems," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(1), pages 138-148, February.
    10. Gu, Tianqi & Kim, Inhi & Currie, Graham, 2019. "To be or not to be dockless: Empirical analysis of dockless bikeshare development in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 122-147.
    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. Xinwei Ma & Ruiming Cao & Jianbiao Wang, 2019. "Effects of Psychological Factors on Modal Shift from Car to Dockless Bike Sharing: A Case Study of Nanjing, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Pol Felipe-Falgas & Cristina Madrid-Lopez & Oriol Marquet, 2022. "Assessing Environmental Performance of Micromobility Using LCA and Self-Reported Modal Change: The Case of Shared E-Bikes, E-Scooters, and E-Mopeds in Barcelona," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-17, March.
    3. Alexandros Nikitas, 2019. "How to Save Bike-Sharing: An Evidence-Based Survival Toolkit for Policy-Makers and Mobility Providers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, June.
    4. Li, Chunzhi & Xiao, Wei & Zhang, Dayong & Ji, Qiang, 2021. "Low-carbon transformation of cities: Understanding the demand for dockless bike sharing in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    5. Koide, R. & Murakami, S. & Nansai, K., 2022. "Prioritising low-risk and high-potential circular economy strategies for decarbonisation: A meta-analysis on consumer-oriented product-service systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    6. Lucie Enochsson & Yuliya Voytenko Palgan & Andrius Plepys & Oksana Mont, 2021. "Impacts of the Sharing Economy on Urban Sustainability: The Perceptions of Municipal Governments and Sharing Organisations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-31, April.
    7. Tianjian Yang & Ye Li & Simin Zhou, 2019. "System Dynamics Modeling of Dockless Bike-Sharing Program Operations: A Case Study of Mobike in Beijing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, March.
    8. Han, Sun Sheng, 2020. "The spatial spread of dockless bike-sharing programs among Chinese cities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    9. Bretones, Alexandra & Marquet, Oriol, 2022. "Sociopsychological factors associated with the adoption and usage of electric micromobility. A literature review," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 230-249.
    10. Si, Hongyun & Su, Yangyue & Wu, Guangdong & Liu, Bingsheng & Zhao, Xianbo, 2020. "Understanding bike-sharing users’ willingness to participate in repairing damaged bicycles: Evidence from China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 203-220.
    11. Carlos M. Vallez & Mario Castro & David Contreras, 2021. "Challenges and Opportunities in Dock-Based Bike-Sharing Rebalancing: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-26, February.
    12. Gu, Tianqi & Xu, Weiping & Liang, Hua & He, Qing & Zheng, Nan, 2024. "School bus transport service strategies’ policy-making mechanism – An evolutionary game approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    13. García, Antonio & Monsalve-Serrano, Javier & Martinez-Boggio, Santiago & Soria Alcaide, Rafael, 2023. "Carbon footprint of battery electric vehicles considering average and marginal electricity mix," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    14. Mitchell K. van der Hulst & Mark A. J. Huijbregts & Niels van Loon & Mirjam Theelen & Lucinda Kootstra & Joseph D. Bergesen & Mara Hauck, 2020. "A systematic approach to assess the environmental impact of emerging technologies: A case study for the GHG footprint of CIGS solar photovoltaic laminate," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(6), pages 1234-1249, December.
    15. Yi, Wenjing & Yan, Jie, 2020. "Energy consumption and emission influences from shared mobility in China: A national level annual data analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    16. Shaheen, Susan PhD & Chan, Nelson & Gaynor, Theresa, 2016. "Casual Carpooling in the San Francisco Bay Area: Understanding User Characteristics, Behaviors, and Motivations," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt4dh2h0rf, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    17. Liang Gao & Wei Xu & Yifeng Duan, 2019. "Dynamic Scheduling Based on Predicted Inventory Variation Rate for Public Bicycle System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-11, March.
    18. Dowds, Jonathan & Howerter, Sarah & Hines, Paul & Aultman-Hall, Lisa, 2024. "Integrated Modeling of Electric Vehicle Energy Demand and Regional Electricity Generation," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt9nv8z4kc, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    19. Nikolaos-Fivos Galatoulas & Konstantinos N. Genikomsakis & Christos S. Ioakimidis, 2020. "Spatio-Temporal Trends of E-Bike Sharing System Deployment: A Review in Europe, North America and Asia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-17, June.
    20. Yuan Li & Zhenjun Zhu & Xiucheng Guo, 2019. "Operating Characteristics of Dockless Bike-Sharing Systems near Metro Stations: Case Study in Nanjing City, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-18, April.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:arx:papers:2202.12405. 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: arXiv administrators (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://arxiv.org/ .

    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.