Public Bicycle Sharing Service (BSS) in Bangladesh: An Overview on Operations and Services

Abstract

A public bicycle sharing service (BSS) is a system where bicycles are strategically placed in a network of stations and offered for public  use. The users of BSS can take advantages of biking without the responsibilities of purchase and maintenance of a bicycle. This paper  provides a brief history and description of BSS operation in Bangladesh, current situation of the services and the users’ opinions. An  in-depth discussion with BSS providers was done and the responses of 871 users were collected through online questionnaire. The results show that BSS provides an alternative travel mode which is cheaper than rickshaws. Almost 90% of the users are satisfied with  the service, however, there are several problems such as problems related to the App for unlocking, locking, and vandalism of the bike.  The results will be helpful for researchers and professionals understanding the issues related to BSS in Bangladesh and in similar  countries as well as formulating policy actions.