On the Use of a Bike-Sharing System in Extreme Weather Events: The Case of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

This article aims to analyze the use of a bike-sharing system (BSS) during the flooding event caused by extreme rainfall that hit the municipality of Porto Alegre, Brazil, in May 2024. Public transport services were interrupted, prompting an investigation into the resilience of the BSS during the crisis. Considering data from the Tembici BSS company, a set of approximately 400,000 trips made between 104 stations in the municipality of Porto Alegre from January to May 2024 were analyzed. Daily rainfall data from the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) were compared with the daily trip flow to identify the travel flow patterns on the days most affected by the flooding. The results indicate an abrupt drop in shared bicycle use during May 2024, but 7600 trips were recorded despite the crisis. Regarding the travel pattern between 1 May and 10 May, most trips were still for recreational purposes (73%), while trips for work and study accounted for 22% of the total, and only 5% were for delivery services. Overall, the resilience of the BSS during the extreme climate event in question points to the continuation of practical daily activities, although with more significant effects on economic-related activities and lesser effects on leisure-related activities.