Powered by BICO: Workforce

The impact of COVID-19 on bikesharing operations has initially been mixed with the longer term outlook looking relatively positive.

While the face of bikeshare systems will likely look the same, operations will undoubtably look very different as we enter the ‘new normal’.

As bikeshare operators begin to emerge from closed systems and reduced ridership, it is proving that the past is not a good indicator of the future; with the pandemic impacting workforce availability, traffic patterns, usage and shown the chaos that unforeseen, unprecedented events can have on shared mobility systems.

In the face of the adverse conditions presented by the pandemic, how can bikeshare operators adapt to ever-changing parameters?

Working with bikeshare operators across the industry has given us a unique insight into overcoming not only the daily challenges of bikeshare operations but also the new challenge of returning from lock-down. One of these challenges is change in workforce.

One of the primary drivers of any bikeshare operation is the workforce. From the teams in the field who rebalance, recharge and maintain the system throughout the day, to the back-office operations that ensure everything is running smoothly based upon real-time, real-world conditions. It is critical to maximise their efficiencies, and the limited resource that is made available to operators.

Combining the above with increased requirement for cleaning & disinfecting of bikes, stations and other equipment places due to COVID-19 an additional strain is being placed on operators.

So, What Does This Mean?

As the world recovers and ‘new normal’ begins, bikeshare operators are having to optimise their operations and improve efficiencies across a reduced workforce in many cases.

Alignment of new operational models and on-boarding processes are required which could create reduced productivity in the long-term as less resource may have to complete more tasks. Although this is almost a pre-requisite of being a bikeshare operator, combined with evident likelihood of increased demand, this could leave operators struggling to provide the best service to their users.

Systems utilising the BICO system have not just managed but thrived as they emerge from lockdown.

A large European dock-based operation who utilises our BICO system, reduced their operations fleet (trucks/vans) by 60% due reduced ridership and operational capacity caused by the virus.

Whilst achieving 99% system availability during the reduction in ridership (~50% of normal) the most significant observation was as users began to re-utilise the system.

With ridership reached 95–100% of expected levels (during the peak summer period) the operation was able to maintain 96%+ availability across the entire system with just 40% of the fleet that had been used previously to meet the same KPI level and ridership demand.

Which is why it is critical, based upon the operational, financial and usage impacts caused by the pandemic that bikeshare operators need to decide:

“What does good look like?”

By understanding what is good enough (in relation to KPI performance from availability, empty/full instances or time, or customer satisfaction) to decide what resource is required to achieve that level of service to keep the user, operator and city happy.

With increased bike and space availability being directly correlated to increased ridership, and operators budgets being heavily focused on resource it is essential to be able to answer this question — and what changes, systems or services may be required to achieve it.

BICO AI provides an AI Operations Platform that assesses various environmental, resource, performance and usage data to optimise available resources (teams, bikes, batteries etc.) to ensure asset availability (location, usable, charged) across the entire network when and where it is required.