On a chilly morning last week, I rushed out of my apartment, whipped out my phone and searched for the closest dock free bike to rent, as I do on most mornings. When I found one, I made my way towards it (chuffed that it was one of the newer models because the old ones have a hamster in a wheel feel). After I scanned the bike’s QR code, I noticed there was a curious elderly man analysing my movements. “Come funziona?”, He asked while pointing at the orange and silver bike. What followed was a very basic (and wildly incomplete) explanation in Italian about GPS tracking, mobile apps and the fact that you can leave the bikes wherever you want. He appeared to be following but when I attempted to show him the application he looked at it for half a second and then immediately thanked me for explaining and walked away. I couldn’t gauge whether he had understood anything that I had said because of my terrible or Italian, or because the system was too technical and confusing for him to follow.
Improving urban sustainability and mobility has been the EU’s central theme for several years but does smart, green, integrated transport mean increasing bike culture and if so, does this mode cater to the elderly?
Why bikes? Why now?
The first bike sharing program started in Europe in the 1960s but contemporary societies faced with congested cities and the risks of climate change have recognised the increasing importance of sustainable mobility. In 2005 bike sharing was only available in Bologna (a city that now even offers ice cream and beers for travelling sustainably) but in recent years the so-called sharing economy has expanded. Bike sharing specifically, has become one of the main mobility services in Italian cities.
In Italy the lack of valid and reliable alternative mass transportation has fostered a culture of private vehicle ownership. It has the second highest number of private vehicles registered in Europe, with 604 per 1000 inhabitants. A piece of legislation enacted in 2015, hopes to change this. It aims at promoting the green economy and eliminating the excessive use of natural resources (Disposizioni in materia ambientale per promuovere misure di green economy e per il contenimento dell’uso eccessivo di risorse naturali). Most notably, the provisions include an incentive for municipalities to “go green”. It provides funds equivalent to a whopping 35 million Euro for municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, to finance sustainable transportation projects that will limit traffic and pollution. These projects include the construction of bike lanes and bike sharing facilities.
Municipalities have recognised that cycling has many advantages. Amongst other things, it helps to reduce congestion and improve traffic safety. It also has a number of social and environmental benefits. Along with these advantages is the added usage of data. The use of bicycles has been encouraged and made more widespread—thanks to technology. The system works because of connectivity. Thanks to connectivity and big data, users can transmit all the traffic information in real time and municipalities can track movements in the city and improve networks. The recent adaptation of dockless parking has made bike sharing even more user friendly and effortless. Users can now pick up and leave bikes anywhere.
Challenges of Dockless Bikes
The convenience of bike sharing is unquestionable but in Italy one of the greatest threats is the destruction and theft of shared bicycles. This challenge was difficult to foresee in the lead up to bike-sharing since 88% of Italians agreed that the service would be useful. While some of the sharing facilities have proved resilient in the siege, Obike Italia is set to abandon Rome just one year after its launch. Italy, however, is not alone in facing this problem. Gobee.bike was forced to abandon operation in Paris after thousands of its bikes were allegedly vandalised or stolen.
A second challenge is assessing the societal benefits of improving these networks both digitally and in terms of infrastructure with due regard to a category of persons referred to as Vulnerable Road Users. We tend to think of sustainability technology innovation as something for the youth but when it comes to urban mobility, it is not only the young, tech savvy and fit that need to navigate the city. In fact, Italy is among the ‘eldest’ countries in the world and although a substantial part of the country has Internet capabilities, senior Internet non-users seem uneager or unable to embrace app-based mobility.
According to research done by Alexander JAM van Deursen and Ellen J Helsper, generally speaking the elderly feel that they are too old to take on new technologies and don’t have the necessary experience to navigate online platforms. Further, they don’t have an Internet friendly attitude (let alone app friendly) and so experience what is referred to as Internet anxiety. According to Yvette Agostini, engineer and advanced legal informatics specialist, SMART cities and smart mobility certainly is the way forward, but elderly and disabled people are not yet fully taking profit from the scenario. She believes that “this is an area of enormous improvement, considering the forecasts on ageing population.”
Last but certainly not least, dockless bike operators collect detailed information about our movements. A further challenge to bike sharing then, is the use and potential exploitation of data. Reports indicate that bike sharing companies are able to keep their fees so low because one of their main sources of profit is capturing and selling their user’s data. If you use this kind of service regularly, you have consented to being tracked while riding the bikes. This means that each trip taken on a dockless bike, whether to your local pub or university, is recorded in a database. This raises very serious questions about where these databases are and whether they are secure.
Is Bike Sharing Appropriate?
For the elderly, mobility and accessibility are fundamental for carrying out everyday activities and so understanding if a bike sharing app would be appropriate for them is necessary. The current generation of the elderly are the silent generation and early baby boomers. The silent generation refers to people who were born between 1925 and 1945. It’s not entirely clear why they are referred to as the silent generation but some speculate that it is because they grew up during a period where children worked very hard and kept very quiet. Baby boomers on the other hand have benefited from technological improvements and in terms of transportation, are the first generation who has fully experienced modern mobility through the regular use of cars. Their attachment to cars makes them use little public transport.
Would the silent generation and baby boomers use bike sharing if they could? A study by Ilaria Mariotti and her colleagues on mobility in Milan has shown that while the elderly tend to prefer walking or local transport, quite a large group still use their own bikes to navigate the city. So, with this in mind, it may be safe to say that bike sharing has the potential to be a feasible option for them.
The Future of Bike Sharing
In the cities where Bike Sharing is available, the number of bicycles and brands has increased exponentially. In Milan alone there is Ofo, Mobike, and BikeMi. Several cities don’t offer this service yet, but plans to develop it have been drafted by municipal administrations thanks to the national incentives. This is a pivotal juncture and governments as well as communities need to ensure that they choose the right path. Not just in terms of mobility but also in terms of personal security.
