An early assessment of dockless bike rentals in Seattle

Written By H. Pike Oliver

Here is an early assessment of dockless bike rental programs in Seattle by Josh Cohen at Next City. Key takeaways are:

  • After six months of operation, three rental companies provided about 347 thousand rides that travel a million miles. This compares to the docked system that City shut down in January 2017, that had provided 278 thousand rides in two and a half years.
  • About 80% of the rides were in non-peak travel hours, suggesting that they were mostly recreational.
  • The biggest problem is parked bikes that block sidewalks, wheel chair curb ramps and transit access. As a way of addressing inappropriately parked bikes, the Seattle Department of Transportation is considering creating bike parking "corrals" in busier locations. 
LimeBike in Seattle (Photo by Joe Mabel)

LimeBike in Seattle (Photo by Joe Mabel)

 

 

 

 

H. Pike Oliver

H. Pike Oliver focuses on master-planned communities. He is co-author of Transforming the Irvine Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson, and THE BIG PLAN, published by Routledge in 2022.

Early in his career, Pike worked for public agencies, including the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research, where he was a principal contributor to An Urban Strategy for California. For the next three decades, he was involved in master-planned development on the Irvine Ranch in Southern California, as well as other properties in western North America and abroad.

Beginning in 2009, Pike taught real estate development at Cornell University and directed the undergraduate program in Urban and Regional Studies. He relocated to Seattle in 2013 and, from 2016 to 2020, served as a lecturer in the Runstad Department of Real Estate at the University of Washington, where he also served as its chair.

Pike graduated from San Francisco State University's urban studies and planning program and received a master's degree in urban planning from UCLA. He is a member of the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute and a founder and emeritus member of the California Planning Roundtable.

https://urbanexus.com
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