Bikeshare Pro: A Tactical Planning Tool
Conventional Bikeshare Network Planning
Many cities have traditionally followed a “phased” bike-share planning strategy whereby every 3-5 years a Request for Proposals is issued to engage consultancies in developing comprehensive micro-mobility master plans. A master plan is a strategic document that outlines a long-term vision and framework for the micromobility service of a city, offering an expansion plan considering features such as equity, transit integration, and accessibility.
A drawback of the “phased” planning strategy is that master plans alone are static documents commissioned infrequently, disallowing planners to adapt to changing circumstances or explore alternative scenarios based on upcoming needs. This phased planning strategy has several caveats. First, planners are isolated from the decision-making process as their input would be considered in increments; second, any further analysis (in terms of network expansion) or changes in the master plan would require third-party re-engagement and possible new contracting; and third, master plans are static documents and limited in how much information and insight they can hold compared to online tools.
Continuous Planning
The proposed “continuous” methodology contrasts with the “phased” in that it offers an intuitive (easy to learn) data-driven web-based tactical planning tool for network planning. The tool's automated nature allows for generating quick and responsive results based on the analysis request.
The tool, Bikeshare Pro, covers some drawbacks of “phased” planning as it - a) engages the planners and city staff more actively in the planning process, offering flexibility in terms of their desired level of involvement, b) allows for fast turnaround analysis as the tool is highly automated, c) offers a dynamic planning environment where the planner can interactively engage with the tool, and d) is data-driven and calibrated on historical and real-time datasets.
The tool is designed to complement and sometimes replace the network planning side of traditional master plans. Elements like public engagement, however, still require experienced consultancies trained in this exercise. In summary, the tool offers a wide range of "what-if" scenarios in the design process for responding to evolving transportation challenges and opportunities in a more agile manner than traditional master plans.
Features
Maps and Filters
Map and filter bike-share stations and ridership data based on criteria such as station type, trip characteristics, ridership levels, etc. Like a dashboard, this process facilitates the analysis of system trends including ridership patterns, mode choices (between regular and electric bikes), and system growth over time. The integration with transit and cycling networks is also investigated here.
Add/Remove Stations and Adjust their Properties
Add or remove stations and adjust their properties, such as dock capacity and charger availability. Deployment year can also be adjusted for future growth planning.
Ridership Prediction
Uses machine learning models to predict both regular and electric bike flow between stations, adjusting predictions dynamically as station properties change or when new stations are added. Ridership prediction is useful in assessing the impacts of fleet size and composition changes and investigating the implementation of e-bike expansion programs.
Transit Integration Analysis
Visualize the integration efficiency between transit stops and bike-share stations, highlighting the proximity of bike-share stations to transit stations within walkable distances. The feature updates dynamically as new stations are added to continuously assess and explore the efficiency of transit integration.
Electrification Analysis
Find the ideal locations for charger deployment to maximize e-bike ridership or other sociodemographic impacts, such as accessibility to e-bikes. A dedicated prediction model for electric flows allows for separate analysis, enriching ridership analytics.
Station Location Optimization
Optimize new bikeshare station locations by prioritizing accessibility, equity, and transit integration. Incorporate ridership in the optimization so that the stations would be located to maximize total ridership .
Micro-level Analysis
Assesses the micro-level properties of bike-share stations and their proximity to points of interest and transit stops, aiming to improve the system's accessibility and attractiveness.
Analytics
Provides a dedicated panel for analysis, charts, and tables at the station, ridership, and network levels, updated dynamically. The bottom panel offers an overview of network stations, including their properties, feature distributions, ridership patterns, and new station data.
Cost and Revenue Analysis
Estimates the cost and revenue trends of the designed system based on the provided inputs for maintenance, infrastructure costs, and pricing structure.
Reports and Data Management
Download data in different formats and generate customized PDF reports for comprehensive insights and system summaries. Additionally, the design can be saved and reloaded, facilitating seamless management of data and analysis settings.
Case Studies
Bikeshare Pro has been customized for three case studies of Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa. The ridership prediction models of Vancouver and Toronto have been calibrated from the ridership data provided by their open data portals.
Bikeshare Pro is designed to be scalable to other cities. Contact us below if interested in seeing a version of Bikeshare Pro for your city.
Toronto
Vancouver
Ottawa
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