Bicycle Sharing

Public Bike Sharing Generations

Over the past five decades, public bike sharing has been categorized into four key phases or generations:

• First generation: “White bikes” (free bikes)
• Second generation: Coin-deposit systems
• Third generation: IT-based systems
• Fourth generation: Demand-responsive, multimodal systems (or the next generation of IT-based bike sharing).

First generation: “White bikes.” Bicycles are typically painted one color, left unlocked, and placed randomly throughout an area for free use. First-generation systems do not use docking ports. In some of the systems, the bikes are locked; users must get a key from a participating local business and may also be required to leave a credit card deposit, but the actual bike use is free. Many first-generation systems eventually ceased operations due to theft and bicycle vandalism, but some are still operating as [Page 271]community-based initiatives. The earliest of these first-generation programs was the Provos' White Bike plan, which began operation in July 1965 in Amsterdam. The first North American program, called the Yellow Bike Project, was launched in 1994 in Portland, Oregon, and operated until 2001. The Green Bike Program in Boulder, Colorado, followed this in 1995. Both of these systems eventually stopped operating because of bicycle theft.

Second generation: Coin-deposit systems. In a coin-deposit system, bicycles have designated docking stations/parking locations where they are locked, borrowed, and returned. A deposit, generally not more than $4, is required to unlock a bike. Although coin-deposit systems helped reduce theft and vandalism, the problem was not eliminated, in part because of user anonymity. Many second-generation systems are still in operation. The first system, Bycyklen, was deployed in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1995. The Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota) also launched a second-generation system in 1995 called the Yellow Bike Program. A number of other coin-deposit bicycle sharing programs were launched throughout the United States (for example, in Austin, Texas; Decatur, Georgia; and Princeton, New Jersey). Community-based first- and second-generation bike sharing systems are still operating in the United States.

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