Defining a Primary Market for Bikesharing Programs: A Study of Habits and Usage Intentions in León, Mexico

Bikeshare has emerged as an influential new technology to improve nonmotorized transportation in cities across the globe. Latin American countries have lagged in the implementation of bikeshare systems. As such, there is a lack of studies that focus on bikeshare potential in Latin America. This study contributes to filling that gap by examining the potential demand of a proposed bikeshare system in the city of León, located in the central part of Mexico. The data of a stratified survey of 519 respondents are used to estimate a binary logit model on the stated intention to use the bikeshare system and thus to assess the factors that influence the potential interest in this mode of transportation. Some aspects of the results are consistent with other studies: potential bikeshare users must have a safe infrastructure, they will use bikeshare for regular trips from home to work, and bikeshare is competitive for short-duration trips. A few findings contrast with other studies: potential bikeshare users tend to be lower income and are not already cyclists, and some have very long transit commutes.