Trends in Docked Bikeshare Trips in the U.S. Since 2019
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), first detected in December
2019, caused an unprecedented decline in freight and passenger movement across
multiple transportation modes, across the Nation- and world-wide, shortly after
the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on
March 11, 2020. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) explored the effects of COVID-19 on docked bikeshare trips in an interactive application. The application compares the total number of trips taken in a selected month to the same month in the previous year by system. Views also are available by station, hour, and day. The data starts in 2020, with comparison to 2019, to show the effects of COVID-19 on docked bikeshare trips.
This page expands upon the interactive application by showing the long-term trends in docked bikeshare trips by system and type of trip, membership level, and time of day.
Total Trips on Docked Bikeshare Systems: Trips on 6 Largest Systems
After rising in January and February 2020 from 2019 levels, ridership on six of the nation’s largest docked bikeshare systems declined from March through May 2020 from the same days of the week in 2019. The largest year-over-year decline occurred in April 2020 with stay-at-home orders in effect.
Ridership began increasing again in May 2020 and rose above 2019 levels in November. Following November, ridership receded again before rising in March 2021.
Trips by System
Docked bikeshare trips in January and February 2020 increased from the same days of the week in 2019. In all areas except Portland (BikeTown) and Cincinnati (CoGo), docked bikeshare trips rose 20 percent or more.
Concerns about COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders caused docked bikeshare trips to fall below 2019 levels. For some systems this occurred in March 2020, while for other systems it occurred in April 2020 due, in part, to a later enactment of a stay-at-home order in these areas. Docked bikeshare trips remained below 2019 levels through the end of 2020 across most systems. There are a few exceptions.
- In Columbus, OH (CoGo) and Philadelphia, PA (Indego), docked bikeshare trips rose above, after falling below, 2019 levels in May 2020 and remained above through November. As of March 2021, ridership on both systems exceeds the 2019 level.
- Trips in Los Angeles, CA (Metro Bikeshare) also rose above, after falling below, 2019 levels in May 2020 but then fell back below 2019 levels.
- In New York, NY (Citi Bike) and in Chicago, IL (Divvy), docked bikeshare trips rose above, after falling below, 2019 levels in September. In Chicago, IL, docked bikeshare trips once again fell below 2019 levels in December before once again rising above in March 2021. In New York, docked bikeshare trips fell below 2019 levels only in February 2021.
Members and All Other Riders on Docked Bikeshare Systems
The proportion of trips by members fell during 2020 but mainly on weekday trips. Across most systems, weekday trips by monthly or annual passholders remained below 2019 levels, while weekday trips by non-members remained at or rose above 2019 levels after an initial decline. Weekends show a different pattern. Weekend trips by members rose above 2019 levels after an initial decline, except in Washington, D.C. metro area (Capital Bikeshare); San Francisco, CA (Bay Wheels); Jersey City, NJ (CitiBike NJ); and Columbus, OH (CoGo).
Los Angeles, CA (Metro Bike Share) and Portland, OR (BikeTown) experienced lower ridership in 2020 compared to 2019 in most or all months - on both weekdays and weekends and across rider types (members versus non-members).
Contribution of Members and Non-Members to Changes in Docked Bikeshare Ridership
Across most systems, trips by non-members on weekdays and weekends accounted for the resurgence in trips from 2019 levels.
Trips by Time of Day on Docked Bikeshare Systems
The a.m. and p.m. weekday peaks in docked bikeshare use by members became less pronounced April through May 2020 then gradually returned. Across most systems, weekday trips by members peaks in the a.m. and p.m., during commute hours, while weekday trips by non-members gradually rises throughout the day before declining. In April through roughly May 2020, the a.m. and p.m. peaks disappeared - corresponding to the period when many states adopted stay-at-home orders. Across most systems, the a.m. and p.m. peaks gradually reappeared, although total trips during the a.m. and p.m. peaks remained below 2019 levels.
The hours for weekend trips made by members and non-members remained unchanged in 2020 from 2019.
Average Trip Time
- Average trip time by members increased by just over 30% from 2019 to 2020 on both weekdays and weekends. Average trip times increased half as much (roughly 13%) among non-members from 2019 to 2020.
- In 2021, average trip times by members and non-members fell from 2020 times. However, average trip times among members on weekdays and weekends remained above 2019 levels in 2021 (by about 12%) . Contrastingly, trips by non-members on both weekdays and weekends fell slightly in 2021 from 2019 times (by about 2%).
- The average trip time is longer for non-members than members - by about 13 mins - but there's significant variation across systems.
- The average weekend trip time is slightly longer than the weekday trip time and trips - by about 2 mins for trips by members and about 4 mins for trips by non-members. As of October 2021, the average trip time by members was 16 mins on weekdays and 14 mins on weekends and by non-members was 28 mins on weekdays and 25 mins on weekends.
Notes:
For "constant month" views, days included in each month can be found at: https://data.bts.gov/api/views/6cfa-ipzd/files/36fde1b8-57c3-4d31-b9dc-bbc896ba346e?download=true&filename=days_included_in_docked_bikeshare_monthly_summaries.xlsx
For information on docked bikeshare ridership in 2020, see the effects of COVID-19 on docked bikeshare ridership. For information on systems that suspended operations or closed in 2020, see Docked and Dockless and E-scooter System Changes 2020.
Data on bikeshare and e-scooters are available in the Bikeshare & Scooter Systems and Intermodal Passenger Connectivity Database (IPCD) datasets. For cities with a docked bikeshare system, see Locations of Docked Bikeshare Stations by System and Year for station locations and changes in locations over time.
