ABSTRACT
This chapter examines available research evaluating the degree to which the purported benefits of bike share are being realised and concludes with some of the necessary, additional measures required to improve the ability of city agencies and researchers to evaluate the benefits of bike share. City governments have introduced bike share for the benefits they associate with increased urban cycling: improved population health, air and noise pollution reduction, and as a response to combating climate change. Many of the most heavily promoted benefits of bike share are contingent on bike share being used as a replacement for motor vehicle travel. The associated benefits were shown to differ by gender and age, with men’s major benefit coming from reductions in ischaemic heart disease, whereas women were more likely to benefit in terms of reductions in depression. One of the most startling findings is that bike share users appear to be less exposed to crash risk than private cyclists.
