Assessing the Feasibility of an Automated Public Bicycle System in Metro Vancouver

This project involves working with Translink – the Greater Vancouver transit authority, covering buses, skytrain, seabus, trains, and ferries – to conduct initial research to examine the viability of an automated public bicycle system similar in scale and design to systems recently initiated in Paris, Lyon and Oslo. Current understandings of these models, combined with the local socio-political climate and upcoming 2010 Olympics point to a potential opportunity for Vancouver, and later the entire Metro Vancouver area, to be one of the next major cities to successfully implement such a system. The research will include a comprehensive review of existing schemes, a compilation of a best practices guide and the development of a preliminary feasibility study/demand analysis specific to the potential market of Metro Vancouver based on the available data and ongoing internal Translink market research. The intern will produce a report highlighting her findings and presenting the opportunities and potential challenges of a public bicycle sharing systems and make recommendations for next steps.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Karen Ferguson

Student:

Tara Irwin

Partner:

Translink

Discipline:

Urban studies

Sector:

Automotive and transportation

University:

Simon Fraser University