The shared bicycle scheme in Milan : a report on the development of a successful public transport system

In the last years, the number of public shared bicycle systems (PSBSs) in big cities has steadily increased all over the world. City councils now consider bike sharing a valid transport policy option for regulating the urban traffic flow. For a country like Italy with chronic urban development flaws, PSBSs can represent a solution in the hands of citizens for short journeys in highly urbanized areas. In this paper we focus on the successful example of Milan’s BikeMi PSBS which is giving positive results in terms of satisfaction to the service management, the city council and the citizens. Data concerning 4.1 million bike trips from 2009 to 2012 are analysed. From this analysis it can be inferred that for an average commuter the bicycle is now a valid alternative to the car in terms of speed, distance travelled daily, and itinerary choice, especially during peak periods and in proximity of the city centre and the main railway stations. The main bicycle tracks and hotspots are also detected revealing an imbalance between the northern and the southern part of the city, with the northern part more covered by the service