Mobike, one of London’s four bikeshare operators (with Urbo, Ofo and Santander Cycles) as today expanded to Newham. The operators are being driven by different borough approaches and priorities, which is resulting in a patchwork quilt of operating areas, although the London Assembly is today pushing for a more London-wide approach to regulation of the field.
Over and above the map linked above, I’ve done some population analysis to look at how the four different operators compare in London. Demographic figures are from the 2011 Census so total population will have gone up a bit, and cycle-to-work population up a lot. Nonetheless, the figures still allow for a useful comparison. The populations here are working age (16-74) populations. The differences across the operators are dramatic:
| Operator |
# of Boroughs |
Area /km2 |
# of Bikes |
Average Day/Night Pop |
Bikeshare Bikes per Person |
Pop Density pax/km2 |
Cycle To Work Pop % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santander Cycles | 5, + 6 (part) | 112 | 10200 | 1,520,000 | 1:150 | 13500 | 4.8% |
| Mobike | 6 | 196 | 1800 | 1,425,000 | 1:800 | 7300 | 3.5% |
| Ofo | 5 | 123 | 1300 | 1,040,000 | 1:1000 | 8500 | 4.0% |
| Urbo | 3 | 177 | 500 | 570,000 | 1:2800 | 3200 | 1.2% |
I have calculated the populations by averaging the day-time workplace population and the night-time residential population, making a very rough assumption that people spend their waking hours split roughly between work and home. Santander Cycles, the dock-based system, has been around since 2010. The others are all dockless operators and launched in 2017.
The high population density where Santander Cycles works in its favour, as does its high bikes/population ratio, with one bike available for every 150 person who lives and/or works in the area. Urbo, on the other hand, is mainly targetting populations that both have a low population density, and a low cycle-to-work percentage – two factors that would work against it. Mobike and Ofo sit in the middle, with the former quite a bit larger than the latter at the moment, but the latter operating areas with a more established tradition of cycling (using here the Cycle to Work population as a proxy for cycling in general).
2 replies on “Population Analysis of London Bikeshare Systems”
Santander Cycles is on the right path. Targeting areas with a high population density is a great idea. There’s definitely a higher demand. Cycling to work is on the rise in cities with young people because it saves money. Maybe Urbo could see some serious change within the next 10 years and they see something we don’t.
Thanks for the update on bike sharing in the capital.