Many cities around the US and the world are seeing an increase in the bicycle sharing business. This is a public transit system in which bicycles are made available for shared use on a short-term basis for a fee. Customers can pick up a bike from any location and dock it, or drop it off, at specified bike racks. Different services also allow the option to drop it off anywhere for use by someone else, bikes can be traced by a smartphone mapping app that shows bikes available around you.

The growth this industry has seen is due in part to the connectivity and payment options that the user has. People can easily access this service by downloading an application and paying directly from their phone. Many aspects of the business model that allowed companies such as Uber to be successful are seen with dock-less bikes which has attracted many investors, especially in China. Over ninety percent of biggest bike sharing programs began here and are continually looking to expand to countries around the world, creating a billion-dollar industry. This service has become an essential tool that has positively impacted many people around the world.

One of the primary reasons why investors are attracted to this business is because of the monetization possibilities that come from the collection of data within this system. Data mining in this industry has become a powerful tool for these investors to get their return on investment. The data that is collected comes from GPS chips that transmit location every second. This allows for the tracking of movement among the customers which can be helpful for the company and the city to determine the most popular drop off locations. Cities like South Bend in Indiana can use this data to consider the best places to construct new bike paths and protected bike lanes. Companies can also decide on the best places to build bigger parking spaces, a problem that cities like Amsterdam have seen during the rise of this industry. The most bike friendly city in the world has tested with the idea of banning dock-less bikes as their stations take up useful public space from many pedestrians. However, this problem can be resolved through the collection of data. This could allow for city officials to strategically place hubs for dock-less bikes in order to accommodate both the company and the people who rely on this service. Seattle for example has taken this data into account and used it to their advantage. They optimize their general bike infrastructure spending through this analyzation of data collected by bikes.

The problem of privacy concerns the public, especially during a time of our lives where tech companies don’t have sophisticated privacy laws to follow. Serious implications could arise if hackers for example, get access to this data and are able to collect information about someone’s daily bike route. Some suggest hiring independent auditors to check up on companies to make sure they are safeguarding a rider’s privacy. Facebook for example was created to improve social interactions between people, but over the past year, it is easy to see that its primary purpose is to collect personal data that is then sold to a third party. If the bike sharing industry stays true to its purpose, it will continue to benefit society so long as the data isn’t individualized or sold off to companies for make profit.

• https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612123/the-secret-data-collected-by-dockless-bikes-is-helping-cities-map-your-movement/
• https://www.bikebiz.com/landscape/amsterdam-bans-dockless-bikes
• https://www.bikebiz.com/landscape/data-mining-is-why-billions-are-being-pumped-into-dockless-bikes
• https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2017/11/bike-sharing-data-cities-lessons-chinas-experience/