How to Adopt Bicycle as Public Transport at Hong Kong?
Background
The rapidly growing number of vehicles brings people new trouble:
With the social development of science and technology, the vehicle has become a popular consumer goods, the rapidly growing number of vehicle brought more trouble along with the convenience: environmental pollution, energy shortage, traffic congestion, noise, parking problems. These problems are more or less directly related to motor vehicle traffic. The increasingly acute problem has to be noticed.
Bicycle as a sustainable means of transport has obvious advantage: no noise, zero emissions, easy access to other public seamless. The series of advantages make it possible to solve the problem of urban traffic congestion, reduce environmental pollution, reduce energy consumption, to solve “The Last Mile Problem” which is widely recognized.
The development of technologies makes it possible for the popularization of public bicycle transport:
With the rapid development of communication technology, computer technology and internet technology Public bicycles have been widely promoted and applied in the world. As the name implies: public can use the bicycle, because it shares something in common with bus, sometimes it is also called bicycle bus. Public bicycles are stored in service station in public bicycle system for the public. With the rapid development of network authentication technology and management technology, the popularization of bicycle bus becomes possible.
The public bicycle transport has gradually become a social trend:
Public bicycle transport (PBT) first appeared in Holland, the most prominent development in Denmark. The USA, France, Britain, Canada, China and other countries have launched a public bicycle rental service. To the end of 2016 PBT system has been spread in Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Hunan, Guangdong, and the other province. Especially in Jiangsu, including a number of subordinate county-level cities has introduced public system. Beijing 2008 Olympic Games as an opportunity also carry out bicycle rental. But with the end of Olympic Games, it gradually went into low tide as a result of many aspects, which recently has been added into the schedule to recover the public bicycle project.
Challenges
The limited distance of bicycle transport:
Bicycle travel time is longer compared with vehicle, and depending on the body’s biological energy, different conditions of riders limit the distance of travel. The characteristic of physical cost in the transmission determines it not suitable for long distance travel.
Safety risk caused by the incomplete infrastructure:
The degree of perfection the road facilities, the quality of the cyclists can directly decide the frequency of traffic accidents.
Because of the lack of the bike lanes, it causes a phenomenon of mixing of the vehicle and non-motor vehicle on the road, which increase the traffic delay and accidents. In Hong Kong people only ride bikes in the less populated territories and the district Islands.
With less careful observation of the road, ignoring the traffic light, wantonly crossing the road, suddenly branching out lead traffic accidents happened.
In addition, due to the lack of regulation of public bicycles, the losing and damaging of PBT sometimes happens. People is the master of travel tools. The quality of traffic is closely related to the behavior of people involved in the traffic.
The resistance of concept:
The implementation of the policy restrictions like vehicle number restrictions may easily lead to resistance of people due to the rigid limitation experience of travel.
Recommendations
Improving the fundamental of PBT:
(1). Improving the compatibility of laws and regulations with PBT;
PBT has not been the main means of transport yet in Hong Kong. The number of bicycles is still in a relatively low level, and this is a reasoned result of the local traffic law as it was set around the development of motor vehicles. As for the bicycles, the management system of license controlling, violation judgment , accidental responsibility division is still not mature. Part of the existing relevant laws and regulations are not compatible with the general practice bicycle situation, which is urging to be adjusted.
(2). Improving the compatibility of road infrastructure with PBT;
The speed of motor vehicles in Hong Kong is higher than that of other developed cities in the world, which poses a hidden danger to the slow bicycles. Also, the rapid pace of life and population density in Hong Kong give another potential threat to the mixed jpedestrain safety. It is a urgent problem to realize the shunting of motor vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians on the basis of the existing road facilities.
(3). Improving the compatibility of business model with PBT;
Hongkong’s existing bus, subway system is high developed and advanced, achieving a three-dimensional transportation network and the basic balance with the existing social travel needs. The near field payment technology of the public transportation system has been very mature, and has become an indispensable part of the life style of the intelligent city in Hongkong. Only on the basis of the existing management and operation mode, the reasonable promotion of bicycle transit system can realize transition of travel habits smoothly.
Promoting the combination of PBT and traditional public transport:
There can be a good complementary combination between PBT and public transport, so that travel experience would be improved. At the same time the combination can also increase the utilize of public transport and decrease the number of private vehicles on the road.
Optimizing the operation and management mode of PBT and improving the user experience:
Set up the sites according to urban public transport planning in accordance with a certain distance around the subway station entrance, community gate, tourist attractions and so on.
According to the size of population in each site locate PBT from 20 to 50 to meet the need of public needs and the PBT can be approach by rental station service points through public bicycle management system.
Every PBT is equipped with locker and card reader in the rental station service point, users can borrow the PBT with a rental card which is accessible from the public bicycle rental service sites, each of the site is interconnected with each other to make it quite convenient to borrow a PBT from one site and return it to another.
Conclusion
new traveling mode “PBT+” may be a chance:
After the adoption of PBT, the mode would be changed, from people traveling in mode “walk + bus(subway) + walk “before the adoption of PBT, to the new mode “PBT + bus(subway) + PBT”, which would achieve a seamless and convenient traveling experience, and significantly convert people’s habit of traveling.
PBT should focus on the solution to “The Last Mile Problem”, reducing the traffic congestion and improving the utilization of the road resource:
Compared with the bus and private cars, PBT has smaller volume which means more flexible to access and less investment. The subway can only arrive at a station nearby the destination and walk home, but with the PBT, passengers can use the PBT nearby the station instead of walking to solve “The Last Mile Problem”, which would greatly save the travel time and energy.
As a way of transition, the PBT can facilitate the conversion between the various public transport vehicles. Because of its flexibility, the PBT can be used between one public vehicle transport to another public transport. The rapid connection can reduce the traveler’s transfer time.
In addition, the promotion of public bicycles can improve the use of other public transport vehicles to reduce the use of private cars which would ease the difficult travel, parking problem. While reducing travel costs. Private cars on the road share would be reduced, congestion would be inevitably reduced.
PBT would contribute to the development of society and nature:
PBT is a kind of environmentally friendly means of transport that produces no noise in the process of using. Bicycle is driven by human power without oil and gas as the power source, that produces no harmful gas emissions. PBT can not only reduces air pollution but also save the energy and contribute to the sustainable development of society and nature.