Smart and Inclusive Bicycling? Non-users’ Experience of Bike-Sharing Schemes in Scandinavia

Abstract

Being both affordable and sustainable, bike-sharing schemes have a promising potential of providing smart and sustainable mobility solutions for all. However, for bike-sharing to become part of a convenient, sustainable, and accessible mobility system, it must meet the needs of a wide range of users. Today, existing supply of bike-sharing schemes rarely take diversity into account: people who travel with kids, people who do not feel secure in biking or people who carry heavy luggage, do not have the opportunity to use the system. The lack of diversity in the contemporary bike-sharing supply presents a problem for visions of smart mobility for all. While a body of research points to differences in bicycling due to socio-economic factors and norms, there is little knowledge on how diverse mobility needs affect the attractiveness of using a bike-sharing scheme. This paper addresses non-users’ perceptions of public bike-sharing schemes in Denmark and Sweden. The empirical material includes 14 in-depth interviews and two focus groups with non-users. Research questions include what everyday mobility needs the informants have, and if they can be meet by the local bike-sharing scheme, as well as how the bike-sharing scheme meets the diversity in restrictions, needs, and preferences of transport. The paper finds that non-use of bike-sharing schemes in Scandinavia can be explained through three overall narratives: ‘I have my own bicycle’, ‘I travel with kids’, and ‘I don’t feel safe.’ It argues that obstacles of using bike-sharing schemes in part can be explained the ‘one fits all’ approach that dominates bike-sharing design today. By adding a perspective on diversity, the paper contributes to filling the research gap in new mobility solutions and diversity.