A new report from the National Association of City Transportation Official (NACTO) found people in the U.S. and Canada took 157 million trips on bike and scooter share in 2023, surpassing the previous peak of 147 million trips in 2019. However, NACTO’s 2023 Shared Micromobility in the U.S. and Canada report shows that despite the incredible popularity of shared bikes and scooters, some bike and scooter share systems ceased operating or otherwise had trouble financing their operations in 2023 and many cities experienced dramatically climbing costs for riders–especially for e-bikes and shared scooters.
NACTO's annual report, which examines data on dockless e-bikes, dockless scooters and station-based bike share systems in cities across the U.S. and Canada, found that people took 133 million trips on shared micromobility in the U.S. and 24 million trips in Canada. Shared micromobility trips in Canada increased by 40 percent in 2023 due to the continued expansions of station-based systems and the introduction of dockless scooters into new markets. Trips in the U.S. increased by 16 percent in 2023, driven largely by the continued growth of e-bike trips on larger station-based systems.
“In the 15 years since bike share premiered in North America, shared micromobility has become an essential part of how people of a variety of backgrounds travel through many cities in everyday life,” said NACTO Executive Director Ryan Russo. “However, despite saving residents time, helping reduce traffic congestion and the wear and tear on local roads, shared bikes and scooter programs are unstable, with user costs in many cases increasing past people’s budgets. Cities need to take a hard look at the options they have to shore up these systems, including in some cases by investing public money to make shared micromobility more affordable–particularly for those struggling with the costs of transportation–while continuing to build connected networks of bike lanes to keep riders safe and comfortable.”
“Shared micromobility systems are hugely popular across North America but need dependable funding in order to stay affordable while continuing to provide service,” said Tangier Barnes Wright, deputy director of shared micromobility at PeopleForBikes. “To help, cities and transit systems should consider public ownership of systems, public subsidies and finding long-term sponsors that align with their missions.”
The report highlights notable trends in shared micromobility, including:
- Ridership on station-based bikes grew by more than 10 million rides for the third consecutive year, reaching an all-time high of 81 million rides in 2023.
- E-scooter use began to bounce back in 2023, with a 15 percent increase in trips overall. In Canada, e-scooter ridership doubled from 2 million in 2022 to 4 million in 2023 (making up 17 percent of all shared micromobility ridership in the country).
- Dockless e-bike systems saw robust growth while still representing the smallest portion of shared micromobility ridership. Trips nearly quadrupled in Canada (from less than 100,000 trips in 2022 to 300,000 trips in 2023) and increased by almost 50 percent in the U.S. (from 4.5 million to 6.7 million trips).
- Shared systems are grappling with unstable funding models, including bankruptcies and layoffs at private operators and sponsorship losses at publicly-owned systems.
- Affordability is a growing challenge for bike share and scooter share users and prices are now significantly higher than other public transportation options.
The report includes recommendations for how cities can ensure the long-term success of bike and scooter systems, including:
- Investing public money in shared micromobility capital and operating costs: Public ownership of systems and public subsidies can make shared micromobility services more broadly affordable and reliable.
- Eliminating sales taxes on shared micromobility: Riders on other forms of public transportation don’t have to pay sales tax. The report says that removing this expense will bring the mode in line with trips on trains and buses.
- Build the infrastructure that safely connects people to where they want to go: Shared micromobility ridership is strongest in areas with well-connected, protected bike lane networks and shared bikes and scooters close to homes and popular destinations.
“Shared micromobility fills key gaps in San Francisco’s mobility networks,” said Jeffrey Tumlin, executive director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. “Shared e-bikes help get people up our famous hills. A person on a shared bike or scooter takes up a tenth the roadway space as someone in a rideshare or private car, allowing our streets to move more people.”
“2023 was another record-breaking year for Bike Share Toronto ridership,” said Justin Hanna, director of micromobility, Toronto Parking Authority. “This was no accident. Our Four-Year Growth Plan was instrumental in securing a strong partner who shares our values and supports our vision. We had clear objectives and knew what we wanted from a partner while potential sponsors could clearly see if Bike Share Toronto and our city was the right fit for them. With clear support from Tangerine Bank, on a number of fronts, including financial resources, technology and customer experience expertise, we’ve been able to grow bike share’s customer base and expand the network into new areas of the city.”
The full report can be found here.
