Data extraction in dockless bikeshare: An analysis from users’ perspective

With the popularisation of dockless bicycle sharing in cities around the planet in the recent years, studies have increasingly focused on its intrusion to privacy through the extraction and monetisation of users’ personal data and travel trajectories. This raises the concern of surveillance capitalism that is often embedded within urban mobility platforms. While some research has analysed the business models of dockless bikeshare and identified data extraction as their core value proposition, how bikeshare users themselves perceive and interact with data extraction has so far remained unexplored. Using survey data and interview data with dockless bike users in Shenzhen, China, this study explores users’ perspectives on data extraction in dockless bikeshare with both quantitative and qualitative methods. The result indicate that socio-demographic backgrounds, mobility patterns and location of residence have significant impacts on users’ attitudes to sharing data with dockless bike operators. In addition, a considerable portion of bikeshare users in Shenzhen on the one hand normalise data extraction while on the other problematise receiving financial compensation for their data. Users’ acquiescence to data extraction is likely to sustain and reinforce the extractive model of surveillance capitalism in dockless bikeshare.