Using the five Ws to explore bikeshare equity in Santiago, Chile

Abstract

Worldwide, public bikeshare systems have emerged as a critical link in sustainable transport systems. with a solid body of studies emerging mostly in the Global North and China. Bikeshare faces major challenges, as policy innovators attempt implementation in cities that are very different in form, social practices and governance cultures from those in which they originated. Using both primary and secondary data, we evaluate whether the Santiago, Chile bikeshare program is meeting social aspirations for equity and inclusion, allowing all citizens to employ them in an equal manner, or rather are exacerbating existing disparities in this segregated Latin American city. To do this, we analyzed Santiago’s Origin-Destination Survey data for cyclists in general and tracked trips and a survey of bikeshare users, considering trip patterns, user characteristics, and location of docking stations. This article contributes to current knowledge about bikeshare, sustainability and equity in a still underexplored Global South context, providing some conclusions regarding adaptation of these systems to local contexts.We found that the largest group of users consists of educated men aged 25-45 from medium to high-income neighborhoods. Plus, bikeshare schemes are of little use to low- and middle-income communities have no intermodal alternatives to relevant destinations. To date, despite its promise and possibilities, bikeshare is reinforcing or at least reflecting patterns of inequity and economic concentration that already characterize Santiago’s daily mobility. Based on these results, we suggest key considerations that could improve, expand, and redistribute bikeshare facilities to attract users, currently excluded from the system.Keywords: bikeshare, equity, inclusion, mobility, Santiago, Chile.