In some parts of the city, it can be faster to ride a shared bike than to drive or take public transport. In Brno, these are areas like Nová Zbrojovka or Spielberg Office, where traffic is heavy and public transport accessibility is poor. Dr Ondřej Špetík from ECON MUNI talks about how Brno residents use the bike-sharing system in the following interview.
People use shared bikes most in locations with good cycling infrastructure and weak public transport. One example is the area around the Nová Zbrojovka, which is still relatively poorly connected to public transport system. Other examples include the area of the Spielberg Office Center between Heršpická and Pražákova Streets, the Lužánky Park and the historic centre. On the other hand, people use shared bicycles the least in the peripheral neighbourhoods such as Líšeň, Kohoutovice or Starý Lískovec.
It is the cycling infrastructure that can make shared bikes the fastest means of transport on certain roads. The weekday and daily routine of the city's residents also has an impact - there are more rentals on weekdays than on weekends, and we've seen the most trips in the morning and afternoon rush hours. Another factor is the weather, with warm days without rain naturally seeing more trips than those with bad weather.
Yes. This is nicely illustrated in the area of Nová Zbrojovka. It's relatively far from public transport stops and the traffic situation is not optimal. On the other hand, the cycling infrastructure in the area is quite good, so it is possible to get from Nové Zbrojovka to the more populated parts of the city faster by bike, whether shared or private, than by public transport or car.
Data show that the number of trips for which people use shared bikes has increased significantly since the introduction of free fares. But, of course, the city also pays for trips that would have taken place without the city subsidy.
The relatively small number of cycle paths and the complicated construction of new ones play a major role. The geography of some parts of the city is also important, as the current bike sharing system is not designed for steep terrain. Since there are manual bikes in Brno, in the uphill parts of the city there are either no bike-sharing stations at all, or they are empty because most people are not willing to "climb" to Líšeň, for example, by bike.
I believe that if the city wants to increase the share of cycling, it will need to invest more in bike lanes. The data show that people ride shared bikes at least partly on roads without car traffic, whether it is the pedestrian zone in the historic centre, the path in Lužánky or the cycling trail along the river. Better cycling infrastructure that allows people to cycle safely can therefore encourage Brno residents to use shared bikes even more.
We have a nice comparison with Stavanger in Norway, for example. The bike-sharing system there uses e-bikes instead of manual bikes, and is also well connected to the public transportation system. Together with the excellent cycling infrastructure, it allows people to ride more bikes, even the shared ones, in relatively wavy terrain.
One possibility is to integrate shared bikes more into the public transportation system so that the rental fee is part of the transportation pass. Another option is to introduce electric bicycles, which would help expand into the city's hillier areas. However, this requires a significant investment in building stations that require electricity connection.
The Green Mobility project, reg. no. EHP-BFNU-OVNKM-4-203-01-2022, has been funded by the grant EEA/Norway 2014-2021 (Bilateral fund).
Ondřej Špetík is a researcher in the field of transportation economics. He is interested, for instance, in what factors influence the demand for shared bikes or what influences competition in rail transport.
With the end of the year approaching, we bring you a summary of the most interesting events and achievements in the field of science and research at ECON MUNI. Our scientists have been involved in projects with a direct impact on society, celebrated success in grant competitions and helped politicians and public administration to make better decisions through the new Policy Reports Series.
The Dean's Award for Outstanding Dissertation Thesis was awarded in September to Katarína Čellárová, a graduate of doctoral studies at ECON MUNI and an experimental economist. In her doctoral research she found, among other things, that exploitation is less common when people are aware that they may switch roles with the victim in the future. It also revealed that winners who sacrificed more to win felt they deserved a better reward.
