Statistics & Trends

In cities across the U.S. and Canada, shared micromobility is a popular and growing form of public transportation, often replacing short car trips and extending the reach of public transit. In just 13 years, people have taken 887 million trips on shared bikes and scooters in the U.S. and Canada. Total trips on shared micromobility increased by 20% from 2022, surpassing the pre-pandemic 2019 peak of 147 million trips across both countries.

Overview

• In just 13 years, people have taken 887 million trips on shared bikes and scooters in the U.S. and Canada.

• Ridership growth on station-based systems jumped to 81 million trips in 2023 from 67 million trips in 2022.

• Trips on e-bikes grew from 20 million trips in 2022 to 28 million trips in 2023 — a 40% increase.

• Affordabilty is a growing challenge for bike share users.

Major trends and recommendations

• Despite seeing more trips per bike per day, e-bikes should not replace all pedal bikes in systems.
  • Ridership remains robust for both options; in hilly Montréal, pedal bike use outpaced e-bike use in nearly every North American system. And with no e-bikes in the system in 2023, the Boston area’s Bluebikes system served more trips per bike per day than almost every other stationbased system–even with their e-bikes.
• Bike share prices are now significantly higher than other public transportation options, especially for those taking pay-as-you-go trips.
  • On average, a trip costs around $3.00 for the first 30 minutes of riding. After that half-hour, users pay an additional $0.10 to $0.20 for each minute. If someone wants to use an e-bike, those additional fees, on average, add an extra $0.22 per minute. For a typical 30- to 35-minute pay-as-you-go trip on station-based bike share, this results in an average cost of $3.85 for a one-way pedal bike trip and $7.00 or more for a one-way trip on an e-bike.
  • These costs quickly become unattractive for potential users, adding up to $14 per day for commuting.
• After a drop in trips in 2022, e-scooter systems began to bounce back in 2023 with a 15% increase in trips in the U.S. and Canada: 69 million in 2023 compared to 58.5 million in 2022.
  • In the U.S., people took 65 million trips on dockless e-scooters compared to 56.5 million trips in 2022.
  • Forty percent of all dockless e-scooter trips took place in just 10 cities: Los Angeles; Washington, DC; Denver, CO; Seattle, WA; Austin, TX; Atlanta, GA; New York City, NY; Baltimore, MD; Nashville, TN; and Portland, OR.

• In 2023, dockless e-bikes made up 10% of all shared micromobility devices in the U.S. and Canada, and accounted for 4% of shared micromobility trips.
  • In Canada, trips nearly quadrupled, from less than 100,000 in 2022 to 300,000 in 2023. In the U.S., people took 6.7 million trips on dockless e-bikes, a nearly 50% increase from 4.5 million trips in 2022.

The number of people using shared micromobility is at an all-time high, and can be attributed to the consistent and collaborative efforts of cities, operators, government agencies, and their community partners to get people on shared bikes and scooters, and ensure people have safe places to ride. However, shared micromobility continues to have an uncertain financing model in many cities, and is becoming increasingly unaffordable. For cities that wish to provide shared micromobility as a public service, a hard look at finances, subsidies, and affordability is necessary for this to continue to be an accessible transportation mode.

Additional resources

Full report (PDF)

NACTO’s Bike Share and Shared Micromobility Initiative

Overall, riders took 130 million total trips on shared bikes and e-scooters in the U.S. and Canada in 2022. Shared micromobility trips are up by 40% since 2018, and have increased 35-fold from 2010. 113 million of these trips were taken in the U.S., and 17 million were taken in Canada. Since 2010, people have taken 730 million trips on shared micromobility in the U.S and Canada.

Overview

• Station-based bike share systems continued to see robust and increasing ridership, with 67 million trips taken in 2022, a 17% increase from the previous year.
• Dockless e-scooter trips dropped by 10% in 2022 as a number of companies shuttered operations in North American (and European) markets.
• There were 4.5 million total trips on dockless e-bikes, a 73% increase from 2021. 

Major trends and recommendations

• Collaboration is key for an equitable and resilient shared micromobility program

• Investments in infrastructure, like dedicated bike lanes and adaptive bike options, pay off

  • Studies from across the U.S. and Canada show that more people ride when cities build high-quality, protected bike lanes. Reduced fare options help expand access
  • Many cities across the U.S. and Canada also took steps to make shared micromobility more accessible by offering adaptive bike options. It’s Electric: The E-Bike Boom Continues
• To keep shared micromobility affordable, cities must set clear goals for pricing and price equity.
• The cost of riding a shared bike or scooter continues to rise in numerous cities, posing a threat to affordability.
• Annual membership hikes, alongside rising e-bike surcharges, led to a 70% increase in average per-trip costs for members of station-based bike share systems from the previous year.
• Reduced fare options help expand access

  •  Shared micromobility must remain affordable to all, not just those within specific programs.

• It’s Electric: The E-Bike Boom Continues
  • Three-fourths of station-based systems across the U.S. and Canada expanded the number of e-bikes in their fleets, and in the U.S. alone, total station-based e-bike trips increased by 38% from 14.5 million trips in 2021 to 20 million trips on e-bikes in 2022. 
• Even as 9-5 commute patterns return, people are using shared micromobility for far more than work trips
  • Between the return to offices throughout 2021 and 2022, expansions of bike networks, and increasing interest in shared bikes and scooters, shared micromobility options have become valuable transportation options for millions of people.
  • Following two years of record-low travel for 9-5 workers in 2020 and 2021, spikes in travel during the morning and early evening peak commute times reappeared for annual and monthly pass holders using station-based bike share.

As more systems and operators shift to offering e-bikes, prioritizing equitable distribution and pricing will continue to be a top concern, especially with many systems financed by for-profit tech companies facing uncertainty of operations. Shared micromobility can be an extraordinarily competitive and reliable transportation option for short trips, but only with holistic planning, clear policy and goal-setting, and close collaboration between cities and operators.

The increasing popularity of bikes and scooters also necessitates new thinking on how we design our streets, including adding wider bike lanes that accommodate more people traveling at different speeds. One billion trips on shared bikes and scooters is just around the corner, and cities that form strong partnerships with both their operators and the communities they serve will be the ones that lead the way.

Additional Resources

Download report (PDF) >
NACTO’s Bike Share and Shared Micromobility Initiative >

Conducted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) provides information on the travel behavior of the American public. It allows users to analyze trends in personal and household travel. The NHTS includes daily non-commercial travel by all modes, including characteristics of the people traveling, their household, and their vehicles. These NHTS-related publications are now available:

• 2023 Travel Survey State of the Practice Report 
• 2022 NextGen NHTS Data
• 2022 NextGen Origin-Destination Data Products
• 2022 NextGen NHTS Newsletter

The Next Generation National Household Travel Survey (NextGen NHTS) is the authoritative source on the travel behavior of the American Public. FHWA has launched the Next-Generation National Household Travel Survey (NextGen NHTS) to establish a more continuous travel monitoring program with national and local data products. In addition to the probabilistic core travel survey, NextGen NHTS also includes an origin-destination (OD) data program that produces multimodal passenger and truck travel OD tables at the national and local levels from passively collected data sources.  These NextGen NHTS resources are now available:

• 2022 OD Data
• Quick Start Guide (pdf)f
• NextGen NHTS Passenger OD Data Methodology Document
• NextGen NHTS Truck OD Data Methodology Document

On August 10, 2023, NABSA released the fourth annual Shared Micromobility State of the Industry Report for North America. The 2021 report tracks the trends, growth, and success of shared micromobility across North America. Some key findings noted include:

• Shared micromobility ridership returns to pre-pandemic levels, with at least 157 million trips taken across North America in 2022.
• The number of cities across North America with shared micromobility hits an all-time high with 401 cities. 
• Shared micromobility offset approximately 74 million pounds of CO2 emissions (34 million kg) by replacing auto trips across North America in 2022.

Access the 2021 report issued in August 2022:

Download the report - English

Download the report - Spanish 

Building on previous reports, NACTO’s 2020-2021 Shared Micromobility in the U.S. report encapsulates the significant changes that have occurred since 2020, and the trends that emerged within shared micromobility programs that are likely to continue into 2022 and beyond.

Overview

• Despite a 70% decrease in travel across all modes in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, shared micromobility ridership in the U.S. nearly rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, with 112 million trips.
• 2.5 million trips on dockless bikes 
• 47 million trips on station-based bike share systems (pedal & e-bikes)
• 62.5 million trips on dockless e-scooters
• Dockless e-scooter trips nearly doubled from 2020 (33 million) to 2021 (62.5 million), making up 56% of all shared micromobility trips that year. In 2020, people took 30.5 million trips on station-based bike share systems, 24% fewer than in 2019 (40 million trips). 
• But by 2021, ridership had rebounded to 18% above pre-pandemic levels, with 47 million trips on station-based systems.
• Shared e-bike trips nearly doubled from 9.5 million in 2018 to 17 million in 2021.

Riding Patterns

• Data from 2020 and 2021 showed a shift away from the AM rush hour and towards increased trips throughout the day. 
• Throughout 2020, people holding monthly and annual passes took 16% fewer rides than before the pandemic, while the number of pay-as-you-go and day-pass rides increased by 54%.
• The typical scooter user or bike share member rode for 11-15 minutes and 1-1.5 miles.
• In the U.S., total trips across all modes fell by 70% in 2020, with people taking 81% fewer transit trips and 40% fewer trips by car.
• More than four-fifths (86% in 2020 and 89% in 2021) of station-based bike share trips nationwide took place in just six places: the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, New York City, and Washington, DC. T

Trip Cost

• Prices generally increased for dockless e-bike and scooter systems.
• Trip costs for e-scooters and e-bikes have more than doubled since 2018, from an average of $3.50 in 2018 to around $7 for a similar trip in 2021.
• E-bike surcharges in 2021 added an additional $0.10 - $0.39 per minute (plus an extra $1 unlocking fee) for bike share trips, depending on system pricing structure and rider membership status.
• For a casual ride on a station-based e-bike, a single 1.5-mile trip can cost anywhere from $2.50 to $5.25.

• Using a shared e-scooter for the same distance could cost between $5 and $9.

Success Factors

• Cities continued to move forward with service expansion into 2021, targeting previously underserved communities and strengthening their equity requirements for operators.
• More cities issued requests-for-proposals (RFPs) and selective permits, with some cities establishing fully new regulatory mechanisms to combine bikes and e-scooters into single contracting agreements. 
• Shared micromobility operators, partnering with city departments of transportation or local non-profit organizations, offered free or discounted passes for healthcare workers throughout 2020 and into 2021. 

The Micromobiliy Landscape is an all-in-one database for categorizing the world of micromobility. The tool was unveiled in 2019, featuring 139 countries. The current edition features over 1,000 organizations worldwide. A new website was developed to help users better navigate the companies by primary and secondary categories. Check out this blog post for more information. 

This working paper outlines emerging trends in how cities manage micromobility networks, including the growth of electrified devices, the selection of operators based on strategic goals, and regulations to better organize devices. It also offers cities tactics for making systems more equitable and effective, ranging from creating collaborative planning processes to investing in bike infrastructure and piloting low-speed zones for vehicle traffic. These recommendations are designed to supplement and build upon NACTO’s Guidelines for Regulating Shared Micromobility