Measuring bicycle accessibility within the metro catchment area: An empirical study in Shanghai

Accessibility describes the potential to reach opportunities and is widely used to assess the ease of reaching destinations through urban transport systems. Although much attention has been given to investigate bicycle-accessibility and metro-accessibility methods, extending these methods to model bicycle-metro integration travel at the city scale remains challenging. Based on Hansen’s accessibility model, this study proposes three different models to measure bicycle accessibility within metro catchment areas. In particularly, key factors such as trip purposes, bicycle suitability, total travel time, and traffic demand are incorporated into the accessibility models. These proposed models have been tested and compared using empirical data from Shanghai. Overall, metro stations with multiple interchange lines, cycling-friendly facilities and diverse surrounding activities tend to exhibit higher bicycle accessibility, particularly those located in the city center. For areas with low bicycle accessibility in the city, such as Baoshan Road Station and Anshan Xincun Station, targeted improvement measures can be implemented to enhance bicycle-metro integration and bicycle accessibility.