Transit Agencies Adopted New Automated Bicycle Tracking
Transit operators are using automated data to better align infrastructure and service with bike-on-bus passenger demand.
Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Remote Work
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WSP and Sportworks released a white paper analyzing multimodal transit data, highlighting how automated tracking systems have identified significant undercounting of bike-on-bus riders. These findings are reshaping how transit agencies plan resource allocation and service schedules for the coming decade.
Why it matters
Transit agencies rely on accurate passenger data to bridge first- and last-mile connectivity gaps, but traditional manual counts often fail to reflect actual usage. Automated tracking allows operators to optimize vehicle configurations and infrastructure investment based on real-time demand patterns.
More than 1,000 North American riders board buses with bicycles every hour, contributing to an estimated 9.1 million annual bike-on-bus trips. Automated systems at participating agencies revealed that actual bike rack usage was 80% higher than previous manual counts.
The players
WSP
A global engineering and professional services consultancy firm that provides infrastructure and transportation planning solutions.
Sportworks
A manufacturer of bicycle rack systems and vehicle-mounted hardware solutions for the public transit industry.
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
A public transit agency serving Santa Clara County that manages bus and light rail operations.
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
A public transportation operator providing bus and trolley services across the San Diego region.
The details
Agencies such as the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System used Velolink technology to capture real-time, precise bicycle boarding data during pilot programs. By integrating this data with weather, time of day, and historical travel patterns, agencies can push information to General Transit Feed Specification Realtime feeds. This allows for improved trip-planning tools and more accurate allocation of resources for infrastructure projects.
Timeline
2024: Paris Summer Olympics featured integrated cycling and transit data.
2028: Upcoming Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Market Landscape
The adoption of automated multimodal data reflects a wider industry pivot toward integrating non-traditional trip data into the General Transit Feed Specification Realtime standard. This move mirrors trends seen in global transit hubs where real-time connectivity data is increasingly used to optimize infrastructure.
Operators and transit stakeholders should track how real-time bike usage data shifts future infrastructure and vehicle procurement budgets. Businesses reliant on local transit accessibility should monitor if these automated tracking metrics lead to increased transit capacity in their service zones.
The takeaway
The gap between manual counting and automated sensor data suggests many transit agencies have underestimated the role of bicycles in their network. Operators should review their own transit usage metrics to ensure service allocations accurately reflect current, rather than estimated, passenger behavior.
Further reading
For more on evolving transit data and worker mobility patterns, explore our Remote Work section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Metro Magazine.
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