Class Year

2025

Document Type

Student Research Paper

Date of Creation

Fall 2024

Department 1

Environmental Studies

Abstract

A bike share program is a shared transportation system that offers convenient short-term bicycle access for a low cost. This study aims to assess the potential for a program in Gettysburg, PA and develop a proposal for implementation. We assessed the potential of a bike share program by administering a survey targeted to locals, tourists, and college students. We conducted a peer-system analysis of three bikeshare programs in cities with similar characteristics to Gettysburg in terms of population, rural areas, tourism levels, and three additional systems in a regional bike share to aid in the creation of a proposal for a bike share in Gettysburg, alongside insights from survey results. The survey was broken up into sections with questions on accessibility, familiarity with bike shares, and opinions and openness. The survey was accessed by QR code on flyers and online via Instagram or Facebook. Results were analyzed with Excel and R studio by creating tables, graphs, chi-square tests, and sentiment analysis. The survey received 255 responses from 149 locals, 55 college students, and 51 tourists. The majority of responses indicated support for a bike share program with stations preferably at Gettysburg College, the Circle, and the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center. Most respondents were most willing to pay a fee of $1.50 per 30 minutes of use, but tourists significantly preferred this option. Peer systems indicate bikeshare programs are feasible in cities similar to Gettysburg considering varied funding, accessible fare structures, and tailored management approaches. We propose a publicly owned and privately operated bikeshare program in Gettysburg, PA, featuring ~3 stations and ~20 bicycles at the locations indicated in our survey, with pay-per-ride and subscription pricing schemes to cater to locals, tourists, and students alike. However, implementation challenges could include securing funding, developing infrastructure, and managing seasonal usage fluctuations.

Comments

Written for ES 400: Seminar.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

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