Commuters at the Central Campus Transit Center at the University of Michigan.

Spring recently sprung in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and many bikes sprung up around town.

The flat landscape, accessible bike lanes, and convenient bike racks make it an ideal biking town.

I just graduated after four years at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and in all that time, I have seen new bike lanes on major roads and more bike racks conveniently located downtown and near campus. I have to admit that I never rode, rented, or bought a bike in those four years. But I have plenty of friends, and even professors, who bike to and from class in the warmer months. It got me wondering: with all the buzz about bikeshare systems throughout the country and world, and Ann Arbor’s recent decision to start a bikeshare program, could a bikeshare entice new student riders?

A squirrel enjoys a bicycle on campus.

This year, the university’s rec center created a bike-rental system for students. I reached out to them numerous times to try and see if it was a success, but never received a response. I do not personally know anyone who participated in the program, and fellow students said they did not even know the program existed.

However, I did find about a dozen non-bike owning students with and without cars who told me they are intrigued by the bikeshare if it conveniently helps them reach their classes, recreation centers, eating areas, and grocery stores. Respondents with cars suggested they would not bring their cars to school if they could get to these resources with the bikeshare program.

In Ann Arbor, the town and university are dependent upon one another economically, socially, and politically, making the partnership between the two for this bikeshare necessary and hopefully inevitable.

I wholeheartedly believe Ann Arbor could easily reduce car traffic by targeting student drivers like myself. Strategically implementing the bikeshare locations could reduce car traffic in the area by helping to create a built environment that is not car dependent. Connecting the suburban dwellers with downtown could reduce daily traffic, especially on weekends, but reducing car density by reducing the number of student drivers is what the bikeshare’s mission could be and should be.

I won’t be there to see what happens when the city and university install the bikeshare. I only hope students’ needs are addressed and met. So future students can endure journeys downtown and the not-so-pretty trip to the nearest grocery store – one mile from campus – with an enjoyable ride on bikeshare.

Photos by Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and cseeman.

The hearings to confirm Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx to be the next Secretary of Transportation have begun today. And I generally don’t like to put the cart before the horse, but for the sake of this article, let’s assume that the Senate will confirm Mayor Foxx without difficulty.

What do we know about Mayor Foxx? Well, he was the first Democratic mayor of Charlotte in a generation. He helped to oversee the successful Democratic Convention last year. And he is considered a rising star among the Democratic ranks.

We also know that his nomination is being widely applauded by a wide spectrum of transportation trade groups. Everyone from road builders to bike advocates seemed pleased by the nomination. That is not to say that those groups were glad to see the current Secretary Ray LaHood leave. In fact, those same groups would likely be just as pleased if LaHood had stuck around for a second term.

Mayor Foxx’s widespread popularity may be associated with the fact that, as mayor, he helped govern a renaissance in Charlotte’s transportation system. Charlotte is an example of a growing southern city embracing multi-modalism. I chose the word “govern” rather than “led” because Mayor Foxx has almost no experience in leading a transportation organization – let alone a movement. That is not intended to be a knock on him. Instead, it is an observation that he allowed others to lead that renaissance and managed it as an executive rather than a micro-manager.

So based off of these points, what can we assume from a Secretary Foxx? Well, if his time as mayor is any judge, we have reason to be excited. First off, as mayor, he has been involved, directly or indirectly, with the complicated political web that is the federal transportation program. As mayor, he was able to cut through the red tape and manage to develop a multi-modal network in the city. Hopefully, he can serve as an example for others and his experiences can help to eliminate any hurdles that exist.

In short, there is only so much that any secretary can do. The U.S. Department of Transportation is a behemoth of a bureaucracy. Some staff has been with the department since the 1970s and have a different view on what role it should play.

Times are certainly changing  for the better. Like with Secretary LaHood‘s aggressive attempts to change the culture, it seems likely that, with Mayor Foxx at the helm, those changes will continue.

Photo by ImaginePhotographyDC

Chris Eatough of BikeArlington speaks during the Capital Bikeshare press conference at Mobility Lab in Arlington, Virginia.

Here are the original Tweets from this morning’s presentation and press conference at Mobility Lab to release two new Capital Bikeshare reports. There was a very active Twitterverse on the topic and hashtag #CaBiReports.

Capital Bikeshare Releases Two New Survey Reports: Surveys Provide Detailed Data on Bikeshare Usage and Regional Impact. Here are the original Tweets from this morning’s presentation and press conference.

]]> http://mobilitylab.org/2013/05/22/new-capital-bikeshare-studies-generate-social-media-buzz/feed/ 0 http://mobilitylab.org/2013/05/22/insight-into-capital-bikeshare-from-the-people-who-use-it/ http://mobilitylab.org/2013/05/22/insight-into-capital-bikeshare-from-the-people-who-use-it/#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 16:00:55 +0000 Chris Eatough http://mobilitylab.org/?p=7829

Word cloud for answers to the question “[w]hat do you like best about using Capital Bikeshare bikes?”

Capital Bikeshare just released two new reports containing a wealth of information on its members and how they use the program. The reports contain valuable insights into the many benefits of bikesharing, such as travel cost savings, reduction in car use, health improvements, and local business patronage.

As New York City prepares to begin its own bikeshare program on May 27, they may want to bookmark these reports and give them more than a cursory glance. You see, it seems that many New Yorkers seem to think that their CitiBike bikesharing program is going to be a disaster. Concerns abound over loss of parking spaces, loss of historic integrity and aesthetics, carnage on the roads, and even mice and trash collecting around stations.

It’s not just New York that should take notice of these reports. Major cities such as Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles are all planning to start their own bikeshare programs soon. From the new Capital Bikeshare reports, here are some of the highlights that people in cities that successfully implement bikeshare systems  can look forward to:

• Capital Bikeshare members saved an average of about $800 annually on travel
• 80% of respondents said they are more likely to patronize a bikeshare-accessible establishment
• 50% said they drive a car less often since joining Capital Bikeshare
• 31.5% reported reduced stress
• 20.6% reported increased aerobic capacity

Don’t worry New York, all will be good, and you will look back on concerns and objections with amusement in a few months, when you are enjoying the many benefits of bikesharing and the healthy, active, vibrant community that it supports.

To watch the webinar, please go here.

Highlights and the full report are here.

Capital Bikeshare is a mobility management strategy that results in improved health – and health cost savings – of riders.

Health Implications of the Capital Bikeshare Program, a study by George Washington University students, identifies promising findings that could make a strong impact on bikeshare members and people in the Washington D.C. region in general.

Not surprisingly, the study confirmed that Capital Bikeshare members were generally healthier than the population at large, mirroring previous findings that members were typically well-educated, higher-income, white, and relatively young.

The study found that even though trips were typically short – 96 percent of Capital Bikeshare trips are two miles or less – the majority of members reported improved health after joining the program, including reduced stress, improved stamina, increased energy, and increased aerobic capacity. Most respondents (90 percent) indicated that they had lost or maintained weight since joining Capital Bikeshare.

The study’s authors conducted an extensive literature review of the health benefits of exercise, and concluded that, on page 12, “Across the literature, there seemed to be general agreement that active commuting can be beneficial to health.”

The study provides several recommendations to promote and extend the health benefits of the Capital Bikeshare program and paves the way for Capital Bikeshare to play an even more important role in improving the health of residents by increasing bikeshare membership and use in lower-income neighborhoods.

• Seek health-related funding to improve outreach and program participation in lower-income communities that are not currently well represented in Capital Bikeshare membership.
• Conduct a health impact assessment (HIA) of the Capital Bikeshare program to delve deeper into its health impacts. An HIA could pave the way for a targeted expansion of the program to meet the health goals of underserved communities.
• Survey non-members to find out why Capital Bikeshare is not being used in some areas. Such a survey could increase awareness of the system as well as identify gaps in communication, marketing, and programs.
• Conduct an annual health survey to measure the changes in the health of Capital Bikeshare members over time.

Arlington County’s leading-edge Mobility Lab research and Arlington County Commuter Services programs illustrate the power that transportation has in improving the health of the region’s residents. In partnership with Simple Solutions Planning & Design, LLC, Mobility Lab’s Transportation Cost-Savings Calculator estimates the return on investment of “transportation demand management” programs such as Capital Bikeshare.

The payoff of the Capital Bikeshare program in terms of public health and safety benefits include:

• Physical activity:  People who increase their physical activity by using Capital Bikeshare reap the health benefits of riding a bicycle. Benefits include improved cardiovascular health and reduced weight and reduced body-mass index.
• Access: Capital Bikeshare extends the transportation system beyond the limits of Metrorail or bus lines and improves access to health care providers, healthy food, and jobs. This has an impact on the health of members, especially in areas that are underserved by transit.
• Safety: Capital Bikeshare often makes it possible to forgo a car trip. The benefits from reduced vehicle crashes can be substantial, as vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death in the U.S.
• Mental health: The GWU study found that 31.5 percent of respondents reported “reduced stress” since joining Capital Bikeshare. Mobility Lab will continue to study this important health benefit of mobility management programs.
• Quality of the environment: Reducing the number of cars on the road results in better air and water quality which in turn results in better health outcomes. Capital Bikeshare is a clean, green way of getting around town which can help reduce respiratory and water-borne illnesses.

Regardless of where we live or how we choose to travel, we all strive to “get around more easily and in shorter time” – the most-frequently reported reason for joining Capital Bikeshare. The health benefits just come with the package, and are an added incentive for investment in the Capital Bikeshare program.

To watch the webinar, please go here.

For more highlights and the full report, please go here.

Please join us for a press conference at Mobility Lab for the release of two new Capital Bikeshare reports.

(At 12 p.m. EST this Wednesday, after the press conference, the reports will be available at Capital Bikeshare and further analysis will be published at Mobility Lab.)

In the “2013 Capital Bikeshare Member Survey Report,” nearly 4,000 of the system’s 22,000 members gave their reasons for joining, ridership patterns, trip types and much more insight into how people use the largest bikesharing system in the United States.

For instance, one finding shows that 40 percent of respondents used Capital Bikeshare within the last month to make a trip they would not have otherwise made, mostly for entertainment, social purposes, errands, and dining. This shows the benefit of bikeshare availability to the local economy.

Also to be released is “Health Implications of Capital Bikeshare.” With more than 3,000 respondents, and in collaboration with the George Washington University Masters of Public Policy Group, the study shows that Capital Bikeshare is having a positive impact on the health of members. For example, 31.5 percent of respondents report reduced stress as a result of their membership and 20.6 percent report increased aerobic capacity.

WHAT: Capital Bikeshare release of two new reports

WHO: Lori Diggins, Principal at LDA Consulting and representatives from the Capital Bikeshare regional management team

WHERE: Mobility Lab, 1501 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1100, Arlington, Virginia (Two blocks up Wilson from the Rosslyn Metro, Blue and Orange lines)

WHEN: Wednesday, May 22, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST

Coffee and pastries will be available.

The session will also be webcast here:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8300774379403612672, Webinar ID: 118-797-267

For questions, please contact Chris Eatough, program manager at BikeArlington, (703) 247-6981, Chris.Eatough@bikearlington.com

May is Bike Month throughout the U.S. and Canada, and in the D.C. region specifically, tomorrow is Bike to Work Day. It’s a big party day for area cyclists, even those who regularly commute by bike.

Last year, more than 12,000 people registered at a number of pit stops throughout the region, where they were treated to free t-shirts, superheroes, unicycles, local politicians in spandex, and more. This year, bicycle advocacy organizations WABA and BikeArlington think those numbers will be surpassed. Locations throughout the region are competing fiercely to attract the most riders.

If you don’t normally bike to work, but have considered it before, this is the perfect opportunity to try it. The Bike to Work Day 2013 website is full of information about the area pit stops, how to join a bike convoy, find a ride buddy, or where to go for adult bicycling classes.

Everyone knows the importance of getting more exercise — doctors, spouses, children, sometimes even employers tell us so. Cycling for 30 minutes to and from work helps reduce obesity rates, risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other illnesses, as well as eliminates the need for cardio time at the gym (don’t forget strength training though!), which in tunr means more time at home.

But why focus only on the physical health aspects? Did you know that the mental health aspects of cycling make bike commuters the happiest commuters? A recent study found that people who commute by bike are three times happier than individuals who drive by themselves to work. It’s hard not to be happy when you are zipping past traffic congestion!

So now you are convinced — you want to be healthier, you want to be happier, and you know the Bike to Work Day pit stops will add to the fun. Now what?

First, find a bike. Doesn’t matter what kind, you just need one that is in good working condition, with air in the tires and working brakes. Consider what you want to wear on the bike, and what you will need at work once you get there. You don’t need to ride in spandex or Lycra, but something moisture-wicking is a good idea, or whatever you wear to the gym. If your office has showers, or your employer offers memberships to a nearby gym, perfect; if not, ask your HR rep to contact Arlington Transportation Partners to find out how to make your office more bike-friendly. Map your route with Google Maps.

And now, have fun! You will probably be surprised how much you enjoy commuting to work by bicycle!

This article was originally published at Arlington Transportation Partners and Synergy Health & Fitness.

Mobility Lab Express #14 – May 15, 2013 (PDF)

Mobility Lab’s brand new Transportation Cost-Savings Calculator is featured. Our research teams are developing a calculation method to estimate, monetize, and communicate the return on investment from “transportation demand management” programs.

Imagine the following scenario: Your daily commute in Washington D.C. requires taking metro’s green line to Gallery Place, then transferring onto a metrobus to your final destination.

Unfortunately, the Washington Capitals hockey team is playing at Gallery Place’s Verizon Center. The game has just completed, and the street is teaming with Caps fans. Traffic is at a standstill, and your bus, when it finally arrives, is too full to accommodate all of the passengers waiting to board it.

The preceding scenario is not just a hypothetical, but rather a routine occurrence in the nation’s capital. And further, it is an example of an inefficiency in transportation and transit deployment that is in fact commonplace across the entire country.

Solving problems like the preceding scenario was the focus of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT’s) Transportation Data Palooza event that took place on May 9 at its D.C. headquarters. The event was well attended, with numerous exhibitors displaying transportation technology innovations such as real-time geospatial data displays, a Web-based application to locate and map structurally-deficient bridges, and Mobility Lab’s own Capital Bikeshare Crowdsourcing Map (with which members of the public can suggest future Bikeshare stations). The event was such a success that a second Data Palooza seems imminent next year.

USDOT’s featured speakers, including Peter Stephanos, director of the Office of Pavement Technology, pointed to Congress’s Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) legislation as a driver for much of the need for technological innovations, specifically data-driven solutions  to more efficiently invest scarce federal dollars in solving the nation’s transportation issues. Real-time data seemed to be a common thread in innovations discussed at the event, as well as the need for open data to spur private-sector innovations.

The USDOT Transportation Data Palooza event was presented by USDOT’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) agency, whose speakers logically focused much of their attention on highway- and automobile-related issues and innovations to reduce highway congestion and commuting times. The event was well represented by the private sector as well, many of whom presented transit-oriented and pedestrian/bicycle transportation innovations. Private-sector innovators included Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc., Foursquare Integrated Transportation Planning, and Bandwagon.

Cubic, developer of D.C.’s SmartTrip electronic metro farecard system, was represented by Wade Rosado. He summarized his firm’s efforts in mining the information from Smart Card fare trips, combining it with General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data (Google transit data) and turning a glut of numbers into meaningful information resulting in better predictive models and simulations of public transport ridership. Cubic’s model can be used to assist transit agencies and operators to provide better metro train and bus scheduling and more accurate fare charges based on usage.

Foursquare’s Shana Retherford Johnson discussed her firm’s use of data to strategically expand Capital Bikeshare (CaBi) from D.C. into Arlington, Virginia. Johnson explained how Foursquare utilized Mobility Lab’s crowdsourcing data in conjunction with CaBi usage data (including how the day of the week and weather influences use of the service) to create an intuitively understandable demand map using advanced data vizualization. Foursquare’s efforts resulted in a six-year strategic growth plan for CaBi in Arlington.

Finally, Bandwagon CEO David Mahfouda discussed his firm’s efforts in New York City to establish a taxi-share service at LaGuardia Airport. Acknowledging that single-occupancy taxi cabs are an inefficient use of a resource, are expensive to and from LaGuardia airport, and are not “green,” Mahfouda’s firm has successfully created a taxi ridesharing service that is the first of its kind. The Bandwagon service utilizes a Web and smartphone app that allows customers to find a compatible taxi rideshare in real time. With the cooperation of New York’s Port Authority, Bandwagon built HOP lanes at LaGuardia airport allowing customers willing to share a taxi ride to “hop” in front of customers unwilling to do so, further incentivizing use of his service.

The USDOT, established in 1966, shows with Data Palooza that it is looking to the transportation needs of the future United States. Several takeaways from the event were:

• the need for more open data
• the popularity of real-time data, and
• the challenge of turning a wealth of data from multiple sources into useful information that can more predicatively solve transportation-related inefficiencies, needs, and problem areas.

All of this is being accomplished in a MAP-21 policy era stressing performance-based measures to allocate scarce transportation resources. USDOT’s willingness to innovate and collaborate with the private sector and challenge traditional ways of thinking bodes well for the agency and the future of our transportation needs.

Now can someone get on that Washington Capitals problem, please?

Go here for M.V. Jantzen’s photo collage of Data Palooza.

Photo by MadLabUK

Mobility Lab Director Tom Fairchild is a panelist at the Intelligent Transportation Society of Virginia (ITSVA) 19th Annual Conference & Exposition.

He will speak on Friday (May 17) at 8 a.m. on a panel (PDF) about state-of-the-art information and data technologies for transportation systems.

May 16-17, 2013
Richmond Marriott, Richmond

For more, please click here.