California Bay Area Transit Case study on the Integration of Micromobility and Public Transit for First- and Last-Mile Travel Solutions.
San Francisco, California, United States
Emeryville, California, United States
Oakland, California, United States
Integrating Micromobility with Public Transit: A Case Study of the California Bay Area
Summary Information
Micromobility is well-suited to address first- and last-mile connectivity with public transit by enabling users to travel more quickly and easily to stations farther away. This study analyzed micromobility use and its integration with public transit, focusing on California's Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. It assessed usage patterns, station design features, and stakeholder experiences, with an inventory of supportive environmental features and micromobility providers at 18 BART stations. As of November 2022, six operators have permitted shared micromobility fleets operating in at least 1 of the 18 BART stations, including both docked and dockless services for bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, and sit-down e-scooters. The study also conducted an online user survey with 115 participants of BART and mobility users during September and November 2022. Interviews with city, industry and community stakeholders were also conducted to gather more context for understanding the environmental audit and survey results.
- Provide more protected bike lanes and bike parking to improve safety and support the integration of public transit and micromobility.
- Based on the survey results, having more protected bike lanes was ranked as the top strategy needed to improve safety and micromobility experience. However, these bike lanes must be consistent and well-marked across the region to enable easier interpretation and navigation for riders to feel entirely safe making use of them.
- There is presently a lack of accessible and affordable secure shared micromobility parking. BART's purchase and installation of "old wave style" bike racks outside stations have addressed many complaints about inappropriate and hazardous vehicle parking. However, limited above-ground space at the transit stations may be an issue, leading to conflicting ideas regarding the optimal solution for shared micromobility parking.
- Gather both shared and personal micromobility data for better decision making. This study reveals that city managers rely on costly micromobility dashboards, despite personal micromobility outnumbering shared usage by nearly ten times in the surveyed area. Therefore, integrating bicycle and pedestrian counters with shared micromobility dashboards is recommended for informed infrastructure investment planning. Additionally, collecting data on bikes or scooters carried on the train or in the stations could help justify investment in improved racks and signage.
- Explore models for public personal partnerships to provide cost-effective rebalancing of micromobility vehicles at transit stations. Insufficient rebalancing of vehicles at transit stations were observed because of the high costs of rebalancing and battery charging. Models for public personal partnerships is needed to plan effective vehicle rebalancing, targeting transit stations during rush hour, and supporting peripheral communities to ensure comprehensive coverage.
