Michał Dzięcielski

Bike-sharing systems, also known as public bicycles, are among the most dynamically developing mobility solutions in contemporary cities. In the past decade, numerous Polish cities hoping to increase the modal share of cycling have also adopted bike-sharing. Such systems continuously register user movements through installed sensors. The resulting database allows a highly detailed representation of this segment of urban mobility. This article illustrates how a database accessed via a Web API (Web Application Programming Interface) could be used to investigate the spatial distribution of trips, using the case study of Poznań, the fifth-largest city in Poland. Using geographical information systems, we identify the hot spots of bike-sharing as well as areas with low usage. The research procedure outlined in the paper provides knowledge that allows better responding to users’ needs.

In recent years, numerous Polish cities and municipalities have become involved in the creation of bike-sharing systems. Although the contribution of bike-sharing to creating sustainable transport caused some controversy in the literature, the positive role of cycling in promoting low-emission mobility and a healthy lifestyle is widely acknowledged. As part of the European Union’s sustainable transport agenda, some Polish local governments have obtained funding from structural funds for the implementation of bicycle-sharing schemes. This article presents an overview of selected systems, as well as a preliminary analysis of their users’ activity based on data obtained through a Web API. Although the scope of the data was limited in time due to the shutdown of the systems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shortly after their spring reactivation, some patterns could be observed. In particular, users activity was more evenly distributed over time in larger cities (over 300 thousand of residents), whereas in smaller cities alternating periods of high and low activity was observed.

Funding: This work was supported by the National Science Centre, Poland (grant number UMO-2017/27/B/HS4/00099).