Bike Sharing Systems and the Collaborative Economy: A Systematic Literature Review

The growing offer of sustainable transport modes, among them, bike sharing systems as a collaborative economy, has increased on the planet. Therefore, this paper aims to review three of the bike sharing systems located in places with high demand for this service, such as the systems of Shanghai (China), Vélib’-Paris (France), and EnCicla-Medellín (Colombia), through the methodology of systematic literature review and the analysis of how the use of bicycles reduces the carbon footprint. Eighty percent of the publications were made in the last seven years between 2015 and 2022, which shows the growing interest in the topic and little publication before 2015. Among the findings, it was determined that the publications respond to studies on the history of bike sharing systems; methods to improve the distribution of bicycles; negative effects of systems without stations (dockless); positive contribution to the environment and to the health of users. Also, it is found that the bicycle is the vehicle that most reduces the carbon footprint in daily mobility. It is concluded that it is pertinent to expand knowledge about these systems and some aspects are recommended for the operation of the EnCicla-Medellín system in the face of the challenges of sustainable mobility.