Development of an automated bike-sharing system in Örebro
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Kungliga tekniska högskolan - Institutionen för transporter och samhällsekonomi |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 3 244 240 |
| Project duration | December 2009 - December 2011 |
| Status | Completed |
Important results from the project
The project has several objectives: - To develop a self-service bike sharing scheme of the same type offered by other operators, and apply for patent of a locking mechanism; - To conduct a pilot study and implement a system with 10 stations and about 100 bikes in the inner city of Örebro; - To study users and their travel behaviour before and after; - To study the travel habits of staff in the municipality, county council and Posten, before and after the system´s introduction.
Expected long term effects
- To develop a robust, flexible, user-friendly and inexpensive system for self-service bike rental - ´the new mode of public transport´- by combining existing knowledge, skills and infrastructure of rental bicycles in Örebro with technological innovation and development - To facilitate and streamline one-way trips on short and medium distances in Örebro - Thereby also facilitating access to public transport trips and regional trains for incoming commuting from nearby municipalities to major points of attraction and jobs in the Hospital and the University - To measure these effects and estimate the potential of this new means of transport for different types of travel, such as commuting, business travel and private errands
Approach and implementation
During the winter-spring 2010 tests of the system will be conducted, which will culminate in a pilot project with two stations at the beginning of the cycling season. Meanwhile, building permits are sought for the rest of the stations, and the first measurement of attitudes, travel behaviour and travel expenses are implemented in the organisations involved (municipality, county council and Posten). A service centre is established with support for the bike sharing users. Follow-up, development and quality assurance of the stations and the locking mechanism continues throughout the project period. Finally a second round of travel habit and attitude surveys is conducted in the municipality, county council and Posten towards the end of 2011.