Mapping the Global Growth of Bike-Share

An interactive map from the bike-sharing consultancy Metrobike plots the world's active, proposed, and failed bike-sharing services. Willie Osterweil draws some interesting lessons from the data.

1 minute read

March 13, 2013, 7:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


With information on everything from a program's start date to the size of its fleet and the operator, Metrobike's Bike-Sharing World Map is an incredible resource for those looking to stay up to date on the expanding world of bike-share. It also shows some interesting patterns in system distribution, says Osterwell. "The map has a lot of surprises: not only how far bike sharing has spread: from Auckland, New Zealand to Bandung, Indonesia to Baku, Azerbaijan, but also the vast number of Chinese bike-sharing programs."

"Another major takeaway from the image is just how far the US, Canada and the UK are behind Europe and Japan when it comes to bike-sharing."

"The map also shows that the US has many more proposed bike-sharing programs than successful ones: the question mark symbol (which indicates a proposed bike-share on the Bike-Sharing World Map) predominates in the US. As with most issues of sustainable public transportation options, the US is years behind Western Europe and Japan."

"For learning about bike-sharing either in depth or at a glance, the Bike-Sharing World Map is a tremendous resource"

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