Carbon Emission Reduction by Bicycle-Sharing in China

Bicycle-sharing plays an important role in solving the “last mile” problem of Chinese people and promoting the construction of an environment-friendly society. This study assesses the carbon emissions generated in the life cycle of bicycle-sharing, examines the substitution effect of bicycle-sharing, and quantifies the depletion rate of bicycle-sharing in combination with the current rate of electric vehicles in China. The depletion rate of shared bicycles in China is high, roughly 5–15% per year. In addition, we discuss scenarios where the annual growth rate of electric vehicles is 40%, 50%, and 60%. Results show that when electric vehicles’ depletion rate is 5% and the annual growth rate of electric vehicles is 40%, the largest net emission reduction in 2025 is 1.96 million tons. Additionally, when electric vehicles’ depletion rate is 5% and the annual growth rate of electric vehicles is 60%, the smallest net emission reduction totals 1.7 million tons.