RMS & OFO

Roads and Maritime Service  & OFO concept case study

A BETTER ENVIRONMENT FOR CYCLING:
Making Sydney a more liveable space through increased wellness and sustainability

Overview

The Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) has invested large sums of money on bikes lanes however they are being underutilised during the day. OFO has experienced lots of negative publicity around its dockless bike service along with some of the highest levels of vandalism in the world.

Team and duration

I was one of three UX designers focusing on content strategy and research. We were timeboxed to a two week window to find and deliver a solution.

The problem

Bikes lanes are unsafe and
share bikes are a litter problem

Even though millions of dollars have been spent on cycle lanes - the general perception is that existing ones are not safe, and there is a reluctance to use them during the day when other forms of transport are readily available. 

hare bike services launched in Sydney without any form of community consultation and failed to communicate the benefits of bike share. This has fuelled public resentment and been compounded by a lack of consequence for illegal behaviour including littering and vandalism. The dockless bike system while convenient (leaving the bike wherever you want) is also its biggest Achilles heel - bikes are rarely left in convenient locations for other users.

The solution

A three-pronged strategy to change public perception of, and behaviour towards, bike share by promoting it as integral part of the public transport network and increasing the usage of bike lanes during the day

• Create community-focused bike hubs and local business partnerships to help reduce littering
• Raise public awareness and education on the long-term benefits of cycling and the different resources available in NSW
• Leverage the large local workforce by offering corporate bike share services to help increase off-peak bike lane usage

Bike share services should be seen as a valuable addition to the local community and thought of as part of the public transport network. Creating a network of bike hubs facilitated by local businesses as end-of-journey (EOJ) locations and at large public transit stations should help reduce vandalism and bike littering that are the main points of public contention. Hubs could serve as important multi-mode transport links for commuters. 

Partnering with local corporate businesses (with large numbers of employees and different office locations e.g. CBA, Westpac etc) so employees could ride between multiple office locations in the city would also help increase bike lane use between the peak commute hours as well as increasing employee wellness and productivity.²

The long-term promotion of cycling should be seen as a top priority not only to reduce congestion and motor emissions but also to make an impact on the pressures faced by Australia's health and welfare sectors. Research has consistently shown that people who are less physically active are both more likely to develop health problems like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and to die younger.¹

Studies have shown that biking really is a route to health. A recent study that followed 263,450 people in the UK found those who biked to work lowered their risk of death by 41 percent.¹

¹Celis-Morales CA et al. BMJ 2017;357:j1456.  ²Andersen LB et al. Arch Intern Med.2000 Jun 12;160(11):1621–8.

Research

Getting to grips with people's cycling habits and interactions

Look, listen and learn
We needed to get a clear understanding of people's cycling habits and how they interacted with and used public transport networks and road infrastructure. We conducted seven face-to-face interviews and ran an online survey with both cyclists (regular and infrequent use) and non-cyclists. This helped to validate some of the patterns identified through our interviews and get our head around what people were experiencing on a day-to-day basis. What was really grinding their gears.

QUESTIONNAIRE FEEDBACK

• Bikeshare sucks. Results in a complete and utter spew of bikes all around our streets.
• More bike parking locations so the bikes aren't perceived to be abandoned
• Prosecution for vandalism, education & support of use
• Support for biking stations, strict rules in regards to where bikes are left
• I couldn't find a dockless bike… which made me late for work
• If there was a docking system I would be able to see if there were bikes available

PERSONAS

From these we developed three personas:

• THE UNCOMMITTED: A regular commuter cyclist, though not currently a bike share member
• THE MULTI-MODER: A city worker who commutes using multi-mode transport (inc. cycling)
• THE PROFESSIONAL: A young professional working for large financial company in the CBD who has to regularly visit other local offices

On the right (cycle) path

OFO reiterated its commitment to the dockless bike model in recent press statements. However feedback from our research suggested that customers might prefer docked bikes or specific pick-up/drop-off hubs. This meant the research team had to look to see if there were any patterns of usage around the city (i.e. around transit hubs) and whether the app-based GPS location systems were of help to users trying to locate dockless bikes.

Research in context

The research team hired both OFO and Mobike share bikes to compare the customer journey experience. This very was effective at demonstrating the range of emotions and physical demands required to hire and ride a bike in the city.

Our strategy

We developed a three-pronged strategy to change public perception of, and behaviour towards, bike share by promoting it as integral part of the public transport network and to help increase bike lane use during the day

Our research had highlighted a number of key areas that our service-based solution could leverage: Education, Awareness, Bike & Community Hubs and Corporate Bike Share Services.

Education

Easier access to existing resources would give a greater appreciation of the current bike network and raise the likelihood the people would actually use it. 

Increasing confidence and safety is a primary goal through educational workshops and community initiatives. There is a plethora of information and cycle path networks that already exist in Sydney - yet 71% of respondents from our survey want more bike lanes. Our research demonstrates that cyclists and the general public don't know where to find these cycle lanes while information about the available resources and support offered to cyclist is extremely difficult to find.

Pooling together all existing resources into one central location would make them easier to access. A microsite with it's own dedicated URL would help users locate and share information to make cycling a more accessable, safer and enjoyable experience. An app could be developed in the future for additional user convenience.

Awareness

Bike sharing and cycling benefits the community and the ethical reputation of corporate stakeholders by reducing pollution and creating a more liveable environment

To address the problem of cycle lanes being underutilised, we suggest the RMS run an awareness campaign run in conjunction with bike share operators. The focus would be to position bike share as an integral part of the transport network and cycling's essential role in a sustainable future for Sydney. We would also highlight the health and wellbeing benefits of cycling, not just for individuals but also for the planet.

Partnering with key businesses with a corporate bike share service to act as a 'poster child' for the campaign would help underscore  their commitment to reducing their carbon footprint, encourage more responsible (corporate) bike sharing and to increase cycle traffic on bike lanes during off-peak hours

Bike and community hubs

Creating and maintaining bike hubs at public transport stations and at local businesses would solve a major frustration with customers and position bike share as an integral of the public transport network and as a benefit to the local community

Integrating bike sharing into the public transport network would create new business opportunities with local business while reducing vandalism and bike littering. Positioned at busy transport stations and at partnering businesses,  wayfaring signage would  clearly show where bikes could be picked up or dropped off. This would make it easy for customers to find use and return bikes and facilitate easy multi-mode transportation.

Our secondary reseach revealed that cyclists would like more end-of-journey (EOJ) destinations. Partnering with local businesses (cafés, bikes shops etc) to join the hub network would possible see an increase in customer footfall while helping to reduce bike littering and vandalism. Discount benefits from local business and OFO points for conscientious users could help encourage usage of the service. Hubs would also provide a reliable service to customers and can be easily restocked to manage demand.

The hub model would also be a way of future-proofing OFO. Introducing electric bikes/scooters to meet consumer demands in the future can be implemented in a much smoother manner through an existing hub network.

Corporate bike share

Opens new market for OFO by leveraging the desire of businesses with large workforces to reduce their carbon footprint and be seen as key environmental leaders will creating thousands of extra trips via the bike lanes at their quieter times

Bikes are efficient people movers over short distances. The primary business goal our solution addresses is to get more corporate cyclists using bike lanes between the peak hour commute times. We want to promote cycling as a healthy lifestyle choice with cycling education to address safety concerns and help boost confidence. Businesses will have the benefit of a happier and more productive workforce as well as a reduced carbon footprint and being seen as a champion of the environment. 

Corporate discounts and salary sacrifice for purchasing new bikes through trusted partners would help encourage long-term bike usage. 

Results and reflections

A long-term sustainable future if implemented now

There are a number of hurdles to be overcome to help implement some of the solutions we have suggested. RMS and OFO would have to work together to realise the benefits of these community and business partnerships. However, the aim of this proposal was to look at both short- and long-term bike usage, and there would be multiple gains for both parties to proceed with the recommendations. 

Recent press announcements by OBike to pull out of Melbourne and Singapore because of local authority enforcement and fines should be regarded as a wake up call for future implementation of regulations in NSW. It indicates that there will be losers in the bike share market - from four services at the moment possibly being reduced to perhaps only two. The introduction of bike hubs would be a way of working with local govenment and communities to ensure long-term presence in the market.

To provide a more sustainable future for society, cycling will play an integral part in helping make that possible. Our research has shown that cycling provides a healthier and happier future for all of us.