The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the behaviour of bike sharing users

Globally most governments implemented a ‘Working from Home’ (home office) strategy to contain the spread of the coronavirus in 2020 in order to ensure public safety and minimize the transmission of the virus. Unsurprisingly studies have found that COVID-19 has had a detrimental impact on urban transportation systems; however, the number of shared bicycle riders is progressively growing compared to other modes of public transit. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of COVID-19 on the usage of shared bicycle systems in order to identify passenger travel patterns and habits. In addition, bicycle rentals are becoming more popular in some locations. This demonstrates that bike sharing as a transport option has a high level of social adaptability and is progressively being adopted by the general population in a fashion that promotes the resilience of transport systems.