Integrating bicycles in public transport the evaluation of six German projects

1 Integrating bicycles in public transport the evaluation of six German projects Tilman Bracher Presentation elocity ancouver 2012 Thursday, June 28, 2012

What to expect: 1. Public Bicycles State of the Art 2. Projects financed by the European Union 3. Public Bicycles the German case 4. On trial to 4th Generation: The contest of the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development 5. On trial to 4th Generation: Projects by the of the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development 6. Findings

3 1. Public Bicycles in Germany Background

Public bicycle sharing schemes are trendy everywhere around the world, but not in Germany? For example: Paris, London, Barcelona: few cyclists & low bicycle ownership were ideal preconditions for the acceptance of public bicycle rental offers

So in Germany? 73 Mio. bicycles for 82 Mio. inhabitants; about 80% of all households own one or more bicycles BUT: A significant number of these bicyles are NOT in use, because they stay broken in basements or garages Second thought about the statistics: lots of second or third bicycles Commuters (using public transport) need a bicycle for the last mile Tourists having their own bicycle at home, but not in place Modal split policy framework (reduction of car use and car ownership as part of municipal politics) Image factor for cities promoting themselfes as modern and trendy

EU-Projekt NICHES 2004-2007 http://www.niches-transport.org/fileadmin/archive/deliverables/d4.3b_5.8_b_policynotes/14397_pn4_public_bikes_ok_low.pdf Konsortium: POLIS (coordinator), Eurocities, Rupprecht-Consult,

EU-Projekt SPICYCLES 2006-2008 Category 1 Established cyclists: [Norway,Sweden, Germany or the Netherlands] Category 2. Cycling newcomers: [France,Spain or Italy] Category 3 New European partners Despite the different starting points, bike sharing systems can lead toto an overall improvement in the modal split of cycling as shown in the cycling spiral. Partner: ISIS (Istituto di Studi per l'integrazione dei Sistemi, Rom, Italien) (Lead), SenStadt, TUB, DB Rent, Spath + Nagel, Source: H. Maslowski, Bike sharing Key findings and recommendations, EU- Projekt SPICYCLES. Sustainable Planning & Innovation for Bicycles, 2008

EU-Projekt OBIS 2009-2012 Optimising Bike Sharing in European Cities Content: Despriction and parameters of 51 european Public Bicycles or Bike Sharing schemes Result: Bike Sharing Manual for Stakeholders The project will identify good practices, success factors, limits and market potentials by analyses, demonstrations and optimised strategies of development of bike sharing systems in various European countries. Source: www.obisproject.com.

Main providers in Germany Nextbike Private company, based in Leipzig 10.000 public bicycles worldwide ~ 40 cities/projects in Germany, Austria, Poland, Latvia, New Zealand and Switzerland Deutsche Bahn Call a Bike since 2000, at 50 ICE train stations and in 8 cities Call a bike flex = free floating Call a bike fix = station bound Stadtrad Hamburg

StadtRAD Hamburg Start: July 2009 1500 bicycles at 116 terminals renting and returning of bicycles by smartcard, key chain or phone more than 1 m users p.a. Public funding 1.2 m per year organisation and operation by the City of Hamburg and DB Rent (German Rail)

The contest of the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development Aim: To initiate and implement pilot projects for integrating bike sharing and public transportation to reduce motorized car traffic Call to communities, counties and transport and service providers for application (April 2009) Scientific committee, jury 44 applications, 15 awards, 5 conventional projects funded from October 2009 - End 2012 (< 10 Mio. ) Additional pedelec project funding (2,7 Mio. ). Ongoing evaluation (2 m )

12 2. Germany s cointest and projects co-funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development

Isle of Usedom Ruhr region City of Kassel City of Mainz City of Nuremberg City of Stuttgart

Mainz: MGmeinRAD Operator is the local public transport company (MG) 120 rental stations, 960 bicycles (200.000 inh.) smartcards target group: students and communters Start in May 2012

Nürnberg: NorisBike NorisBike is a part of a promoting bicycle campaign by the city of Nuremberg 66 rental stations with 750 bicycles (area of 230.000 inh.) reducing operation gaps in the public transport system distribution and marketing by the local public transport company and as part of mobility management for companies for commuters and tourists (special terminal design in historical environment)

Isle of Usedom: UsedomRad Joint venture and corporate branding of local private bicycle rental companies Main focus on tourism One way rental possible Relief of bicycle carriage in the overcrowded local island trains 500 bicycles (incl. 60 bicycles for kids) 34 stations with staff and 26 selfservice stations Germany / Poland Combined day tickets for bicycles and public transport

Metropolregion Ruhrgebiet: metropolradruhr Regional cooperation of 10 muncipalities in the metropolregion First stage along European Capital of Culture in 2010 (focus on tourisme) Second and third stage in 2011 and 2012: Integration for all day use and as part of public transport Largest project in the contest: 3.000 bicycles at 300 stations/terminals Service area 1520 km².

City of Stuttgart: e-call a Bike Integration of pedelecs in Call a Bike Fix of DB AG (German Rail) Expansion from so convential bicycles towards pedelecs 100 pedelecs added to fleet of 400 conventional bicycles Developement for locking systems and electric charging in public System start failures due to technical problems

City of Kassel: Konrad Start April 2012 time credit voucher for single trip tickets and season cards 500 bicycles at 50 stations Innovative docking technology Redistribution problem (downhill)

20 3. Conclusions

The fourth generation of public bicycle sharing schemes has evolved Schemes traditional Example bicycle rental offers for tourists First generation White bicycle (Amsterdam, 1965), campaign bicycle by municipality (Bremen, 1979), Yellow bicycles (La Rochelle, 1974) Second generation City Bike Kopenhagen (since 1995), Helsinki (Finland), Aveiro (Portugal), Chemnitz (Germany) Third generation Call-a-Bike (several German cities since 2000), élib Paris (ab 2008), Barcelona (Bicing, ab 2007) London (Barclays Cycle Hire, ab 2010) Fourth generation Public bicycle rental offers widely integrated with public transport organisation/companies Bordeaux ³ / cub 2010, Mainz MG 2011

Evolution of public bicycle sharing schemes Model traditional bicycle rental offers : bicycle rental with staff (=> opening hours, deposit, payment for used hours or long time rent, return to start ) First generation of public bicycle sharing scheme: bicycle financed by municipality bicyles for public use without locks and without register users Second generation of public bicycle sharing scheme: deposit system (as in a shopping trolley), use with no time limit Third generation of public bicycle sharing scheme: Automatisation (Identification of users, non-cash payment, [electronic] codes for use, specified bicycles, business cases for start-ups) Example bicycle rental offers for tourists White bicycle (Amsterdam, 1965), campaign bicycle by municipality (Bremen, 1979), Yellow bicycles (La Rochelle, 1974) City Bike Kopenhagen (since 1995), Helsinki (Finland), Aveiro (Portugal), Chemnitz (Germany) Call-a-Bike (several German cities since 2000), élib Paris (ab 2008), Barcelona (Bicing, ab 2007) London (Barclays Cycle Hire, ab 2010) Fourth generation of public bicycle sharing scheme? Integration public bicycles public transportation (discount for PT-Users, integration of operation and marketing) Public bicycle rental offers run by public transport organisation/compaies Bordeaux ³ / cub 2010, Mainz MG 2011

Ways of Integration SALES & MARKETING corparate design user interface distribution enhacement of public transport quality standard smartcard/etickets TARIFF Multitickets (integration in tavelcards or passes) Free rides or credit vouchers for PT users student semester ticket uphill discount or bonus ORGANISATON / CONTRACTS Responsability of transit authority revenue sharing terms of transportation operations PROISION Interchange at bus/ tram/train stops & stations Filling gaps in the public transport portfolio Offer for non operating hours CUSTOMER INFORMATION journey planner analog information in network maps digital dynamic online information on displays in mobile appliances & vehicles

Fields of application Innenstadt Wohngebiet B+R B+R Persönliches Fahrrad Gewerbegebiet Öffentliches Stadtrad Erholungsgebiet Ö-Fahrrad erleihnetzwerk

Primary results - factors of success 1. Care for automation, ease of operation, 2. availability all over the place = network density & bicycle supply & size of service area 3. Contact free access (smartcard), real time detection and information 4. Integration of public transport and shared bicycles improves door to door service quality (complementary effect) & reduces dependency from private cars 5. Favour Pilot systems to test specific features and customer preferences 6. Care for Positive media coverage and professional marketing 7. Select Attractive tariff structure (good cases: first half hour for free; 3 /24)

26 Thank you for your attention! For all literature see: www.nrvp.de Tilman Bracher German Institute of Urban Affairs Zimmerstraße 13-15, 10969 Berlin +49-30 39001 260 bracher@difu.de www.difu.de