Shared E-Bike: Understanding the Economic Benefits and Costs on University Campuses
Open Access
- Author:
- Liu, Sihan
- Area of Honors:
- Energy, Business, and Finance
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Joel Reid Landry, Thesis Supervisor
Seth Adam Blumsack, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- e-bike
energy
Spin
environment
Penn State
Penn State Transportation Services
e-scooter
electric bike
electric scooter
greenhouse gas emissions
GHG emissions
micro-mobility
transportation
sustainability
sustainable
university campus
rider
sharing economy
traffic congestion
value of urgency
economic benefits
economic costs
benefit
cost
benefits
costs
benefit-cost analysis
short trips
urban
student
parking
shared e-bike
driving
ride-hailing - Abstract:
- My thesis explores the economic benefits and costs of shared e-bikes on university campuses. Shared e-bikes provide access to consumers who do not own their own e-bikes. They are electric bikes that can be shared by multiple riders through an e-bike share program. There has been dramatic growth in the number of e-bike users in Europe, America, and China (Schleinitz et al., 2017). Many universities in the United States (U.S.) have adopted a shared e-bike or e-scooter system on campus. Shared e-bikes on university campuses help with decreasing traffic congestion and parking needs, lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and potential cost savings for riders compared to traditional transportation options such as driving and ride-hailing. It provides improved accessibility and convenience for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. However, there are fixed and marginal costs associated with adopting and sustaining a shared e-bike program. This article is a case study on The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State)’s current Spin e-bike share program on Penn State University Park campus. Riders and Penn State can benefit from enhanced accessibility to sustainable transportation and cost savings.