Exploring bike-sharing systems in Poland co-financed from the European Union funds

Abstract

In recent years, numerous Polish cities and municipalities have become involved in the creation of bike-sharing systems. Although the contribution of bike-sharing to creating sustainable transport caused some controversy in the literature, the positive role of cycling in promoting low-emission mobility and a healthy lifestyle is widely acknowledged. As part of the European Union’s sustainable transport agenda, some Polish local governments have obtained funding from structural funds for the implementation of bicycle-sharing schemes. This article presents an overview of selected systems, as well as a preliminary analysis of their users’ activity based on data obtained through a Web API. Although the scope of the data was limited in time due to the shutdown of the systems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shortly after their spring reactivation, some patterns could be observed. In particular, users activity was more evenly distributed over time in larger cities (over 300 thousand of residents), whereas in smaller cities alternating periods of high and low activity was observed.