Golden Gate University

MKT 338 Consumer Behavior

Professor Michal Ann Strahilevitz

Bay Area Bike Share

Mariam Benmoussa, myaben3@gmail.com

Thitirat Jetaramwong (Annie), thitirat.achieve@gmail.com

Piyanuch Kangwankijwanich (Tu), piyanuch.kangwan@gmail.com

Olga Levkina, olgalevkina@gmail.com

Kohki Seimiya, kseimiya.1129@gmail.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... 3

II. RESEARCH METHOD SUMMARY .................................................................................... 4

Primary Research ........................................................................................................................ 4

Secondary Research .................................................................................................................... 5

III. TARGET MARKET SPECIFICATION ............................................................................... 5

IV. MAJOR FINDINGS .............................................................................................................. 6

People Are Struggling With Usage ............................................................................................. 6

Full/Empty Station During Peak Hours ...................................................................................... 6

Inconvenient Time Limit ............................................................................................................ 7

Inconvenient Payment System .................................................................................................... 7

Peace of Mind vs. Bicycle Thefts ............................................................................................... 8

Competitive Analysis .................................................................................................................. 8

Marketing Mix Consideration ..................................................................................................... 9

V. ACTION PLAN ..................................................................................................................... 10

Racing Challenge “Ride Mint and Save The World” ............................................................... 10

Video Contest in Social Media ................................................................................................. 11

Bike Rotation ............................................................................................................................ 11

Clipper Card Cooperation ......................................................................................................... 12

Facebook Gift Card ................................................................................................................... 12

VI. REFERENCES .................................................................................................................... 13

VII. APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................ 14

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I. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Mariam

We thank Mariam for all her great work and cooperation. She conducted our team very

efficiently by proposing ideas for the project, team progress, and presentation. We believe that

her passion for this project motivated us.

Thitirat

We thank Thitirat for all her great efforts in helping the team work collaboratively, conducting

interviews, providing recommendations, and putting the presentation together. She has also been

researching cause-marketing ideas, competitive situations, and feedback from social media.

Piyanuch

We thank Piyanuch for all her efforts in finding a great deal of useful information, conducting

interviews, and sharing her ideas for recommendations. She also did a very detailed SWOT

Analysis for the Bay Area Bike Share Progress Report that was very useful for our project.

Olga

Our team greatly appreciates Olga for all her efforts organizing meetings, the final presentation,

and proofreading the final paper. Thanks to her observation experiment that helped our team to

know that Bay Area Bike Share has a big problem with bike shortages during rush hour.

Kohki

We thank Kohki for his courage; he was the first who tested the Bay Area Bike Share service

before other teammates at the beginning of the project. Kohki has also been observing and

interviewing Bay Area Bike Share prospects during the purchase decision making process that

helped us to come up with valuable insights and further recommendations.

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II. RESEARCH METHOD SUMMARY

Primary Research

Interviews. We have interviewed Bay Area Bike Share (BABS) users and non-users (see

Exhibit 1 for details about interviewees). The interviewees were divided between males and

females. All interviewees have been asked the same questions, and based on their answers the

questions were modified. Our team asked questions related to Bay Area Bike Share brand

personality, lifestyle and human characteristics. Kokhi observed 1 male prospect in his purchase

decision making. The prospect was then interviewed in order to analyze what factors influenced

him during the purchase decision. Some of the questions our team asked helped us analyze Bay

Area Bike Share consumer behavior:

● What do you think of BABS?

● If BABS was a person who would it be? What character traits would she/he have?

● What feelings do you have when riding BABS?

● If you had to choose between taking the bus, walking, or biking BABS, what would you

prefer? Why?

All interviewees were asked at different hours during the day and in different locations.

Social Media. We have also analyzed 27 comments on BABS from various social media sites

such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube (see Exhibit 2 for examples of comments

from social media sites) in order to find out what the online community says about the brand and

what the weak points of the brand are.

Personal Experience. We have also experienced Bay Area Bike Share for a day in order to put

ourselves in the shoes of our customers (see Exhibit 3).

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Secondary Research

Because Bay Area Bike Share is a new project in San Francisco, reports about consumers and the

brand have not been uploaded yet. However, we found that the following statistics would be

helpful for our insights:

● “Residents of San Francisco are regarded as practicing a healthy lifestyle. The city tops

the list of walking cities in America and also ranks high for jogging and cycling. With

3.5% of total trips done by bike, San Francisco ranked the second best city in terms of

bicycling rates in 2012” (GMID, 2013).

● According to the SFMTA (San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency) the number

of bike commutes has increased 71% between 2006 and 2011 (SFMTA, 2013).

III. TARGET MARKET SPECIFICATION

Demographics. Bay Area Bike Share primary target market is working professionals, males and

females over 18 years old.

Psychographics. These people are active, have a sporty lifestyle, and are environmentally

caring. They are looking for a fast commute from point A to B next to main crowded locations

such as transportation hubs, financial district, downtown, and other strategic destinations of San

Francisco and other cities of Silicon Valley where Bay Area Bike Share has presence.

Geographic. People from the Bay Area Bike Share primary target market do not live and work

in the same area. According to our interviews, these people live in one part of the city or outside

the city, but work next to crowded strategic locations of the city where Bay Area Bike Share

already has presence.

Usage Level. Since Bay Area Bike Share is a new system, its current customers are people who

had been using their own bikes, had been taking other public transportation options such as

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MUNI, or had been walking the whole distance from point A to B before Bay Area Bike Share

launched the product. Based on our interviews, we found that 6 out of 12 consumers, who have

tried the new system, had struggled with usage during the first experience. This has a negative

impact on building a loyal customer base. Therefore, it seems that providing knowledge of

elementary procedures such as how to dock and undock a bike to potential customers has a

significant value for further usage and building long-term relationships with them.

IV. MAJOR FINDINGS

People Are Struggling With Usage

From our personal experiments that we did together on a lovely Saturday day, we found that

some people could not figure out how to use Bay Area Bike Share bikes (see Exhibit 4). For

example, during our first attempt, we all were struggling with how to undock and then dock a

bicycle on a parking station. Therefore, we were forced to read the F.A.Q. section with detailed

instructions about undocking and docking functions on the Bay Area Bike Share web site (Bay

Area Bike Share, 2013). We found that in order to undock or dock a bike, customers have to lift

up the saddle. However, not everybody knows how to do it and where to find information about

this. As a result, this issue pushes some people not to use BABS bicycle during rush hours.

Therefore, after the first unsuccessful experience, some BABS customers try to avoid Bay Area

Bike Share usage in order to not waste valuable time.

Full/Empty Station During Peak Hours

Bay Area Bike Share is designed for working professionals who are looking for a fast commute

next to crowded locations in the city. Therefore, a lack or an excess of bicycles happens during

morning and evening peak hours in places such as Caltrain Station (see Exhibit 5), Market Street,

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and Embarcadero Street where many people use bikes very often. According to our interviews

with current users, we discovered that this fact is inconvenient for BABS users. As a result,

full/empty parking stations are one of the main reasons why some working professionals do not

use Bay Area Bike Share as their major transportation option on a daily basis.

Inconvenient Time Limit

Regardless of membership option, Bay Area Bike Share has 30-minute time limit for each ride.

Through our personal experiment during an ordinary weekday (Thursday, November 14), we

found that the time for the average commute from popular CalTrain Station to the financial

district of San Francisco takes around 12 minutes. During our ride we passed four BABS

parking stations on our way and parked the bike at the fifth station on Market and Sansome

Street. Walking time depends on distance from the BABS parking station to the final destination.

We reached our final destination (Golden Gate University) in three minutes. Based on this

experiment, our team considered that 30 minutes is ample time for the average ride from point A

to B around the city where BABS already has coverage. However, from our interviews we also

found that some customers might be afraid to use Bay Area Bike Share on a regular basis if their

final destination is located next to crowded places. These customers are concerned that they

might not return the bike during the assigned time limit because the parking station can be full.

As a result, they have to pay an extra $7 overtime fee for each additional 30 minutes (Bay Area

Bike Share, 2013).

Inconvenient Payment System

Bay Area Bike Share accepts only credit cards as a major payment system, and once customers

pay, they receive a five-digit code on a paper ticket via BABS kiosks or special key for annual

membership via mail to use a bike (see Exhibit 6). In order to repeat a ride after each 30-minute

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trip, a customer has to use the same credit card to get another five-digit code for the 3-Day and

24-Hour pass. Otherwise, this customer will need to buy another 3-Day or 24-Hour pass. This is

especially inconvenient for the 3-Day pass since customers have to keep with them the same

credit card. Moreover, holders of the annual membership have to always bring their BABS

magnetic key with them. According to responses that we obtained from the current BABS users,

10 out of 12 already have another additional transportation card called the Clipper Card.

Therefore, these people, as well as our team after personal experience, consider the current

payment system inconvenient.

Peace of Mind vs. Bicycle Thefts

According to the findings of San Francisco Bike Coalition, around 4,085 bikes were stolen in

San Francisco in 2012. The total value of stolen bicycles accounts for $4.6 million for bike users

who encountered bicycle theft in the last year. Moreover, this number does not include stolen

bicycle parts such as saddles, wheels, and lights. Unfortunately, the number of bicycle thefts has

increased 70% over the last five years (San Francisco Bike Coalition, 2013). Due to our personal

observation during a bike trip on Saturday November 16th, we found that even a chain with a

lock cannot completely protect bike users from the threat of theft (see Exhibit 7). Through our

interviews with current BABS users, we have also noticed that Bay Area Bike Share can be a

great solution to this problem and help to find peace of mind for BABS uses during workdays.

Competitive Analysis

Bay Area Bike Share is a new system in the San Francisco Bay Area that provides a unique

service in its product category. Therefore, we consider that there is no direct competition for

BABS. However, bicycle rentals might represent indirect competition and account for 19 major

rental offices in San Francisco and other cities of Silicon Valley where Bay Area Bike Share has

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a presence. All of these bicycle rentals are listed on the Bay Area Bike Share web site as well as

places where bicyclists can rent a helmet for a safe ride.

Marketing Mix Consideration

Product. Bay Area Bike Share is a contemporary new bike sharing system (see Exhibit 8) in

the San Francisco Bay Area that provides residents and visitors with an additional quick

transportation option by bike from point A to B around the region (Bay Area Bike Share, 2013).

According to all interviews that we obtained, the product itself is almost perfect and does not

require major changes.

Price. Bay Area Bike Share provides three membership options for unlimited 30-minute trips

that are available for use 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. These options include annual

membership for $88, 3-Day pass for $22, and 24-Hour pass for $9 (Bay Area Bike Share, 2013).

According to all interviews that we obtained, the price is pretty affordable. Only two students

out of 20 respondents indicated that the price is a little bit high for a 30-minute time limit;

however, they are not in our primary target category.

Place. Currently, the Bay Area Bike Share network consists of 700 bikes and 70 stations across

San Francisco, Redwood City, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and San Jose (see Exhibit 9). Parking

stations are primarily located next to crowded locations such as major transportation hubs,

financial districts, downtowns, and other strategic destinations of cities listed above (Bay Area

Bike Share, 2013). Through our interviews we have found that the company has partial strategic

coverage in San Francisco after the launch three months ago. However, 12 current users

indicated that they expect bigger coverage expansion over San Francisco and other cities in the

Silicon Valley for 2014.

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Promotion. Today, Bay Area Bike Share has a presence in social media such as Facebook,

Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and YouTube (Bay Area Bike Share, 2013). Through our primary

research of each social media, we found that Bay Area Bike Share is pretty active with small

promotions in Facebook and Twitter; however, it has only about 2,300 subscribers for Facebook

and Twitter channels, 267 subscribers for Instagram, and only 4 subscribers for YouTube

(Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, & YouTube, 2013). Therefore, we will take this issue for further

consideration.

V. ACTION PLAN

Racing Challenge “Ride Mint and Save The World”

In order to increase BABS brand awareness, our team proposes to organize a Bay Area Bike

Share sponsored event in the San Francisco Bay Area called “Racing Challenge: Ride Mint and

Save The World.” The event will encourage participants to create and share videos or

paragraphs on BABS Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube pages. They need to highlight

how saving the environment is important in their lives and what are their plans for a healthy

environment in the future. The event will be sponsored by big companies who are interested in

the cause, and the winners will win a prize that they may donate to San Francisco Environmental

Association to make a dream, which will be posted in social media, come true. The San

Francisco Bay Area should also provide all participants with branded T-shirts and mint color

helmets. The main purposes of this event are to capture attention of the potential target audience,

show participants and spectators that 30 minutes is ample time to commute from point A to B

around the city, and create buzz in social media about Bay Area Bike Share. This racing event

will be advertised through On-ground media (posters posted at MUNI, BART, and Caltrain

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stations and vehicles) and Online-media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Youtube

(see Exhibit 10)). We believe that by organizing this cause-marketing racing event, BABS will

increase brand awareness, show the product benefits, and extend customers base.

Video Contest in Social Media

To solve the problem of customers who are struggling with bike usage, we recommend BABS

current loyal customers to participate in a social media contest where they can teach new users

how to use BABS in different situations. Besides having fun with friends, BABS memberships

will be given away as prizes to encourage consumers to share interesting ideas through BABS

social media pages including YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook (see Exhibit 11).

Bike Rotation

Currently BABS has no optimal solutions to rotate bikes, especially in San Francisco. Therefore,

customers sometimes are faced with ‘empty docks’ or ‘full-bike stations,’ especially next to

Caltrain and BART stations during rush hour. Customer service suggests that customers have to

go to the nearest station which, of course, does not satisfy the customers because it wastes their

time. Therefore, the team recommends BABS to install microchips at each dock and link them

to BABS van drivers’ GPS. The microchips will show the number of bikes at each station and

will alert BABS employees by sending SMS to either their computers or their cells. When

BABS employees notice that the available number of bikes is low, employees will deliver extra

bikes to those stations. Also, when there are more bikes than necessary at a particular station,

employees will retrieve bikes and store them at a store facility. Moreover, our team suggests that

the van should be an electric vehicle to reinforce the eco-friendly positioning of BABS. Even

though an average price of an electric vehicle is a bit higher than an ordinary van ($30,000 per

electric vehicle), no gasoline bills might be worth the long-term investment (Blackett, 2010).

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Clipper Card Cooperation

To reduce steps in the payment process and decrease inconvenience in bike usage, we suggest

Bay Area Bike Share to cooperate with SFMTA. This cooperation will allow BABS users to

make an easy and convenient payment by using Clipper Cards (see Exhibit 13) that are used by

other partners of SFMTA such as BART, MUNI, Caltrain, Ferry, and others. This way,

customers will not have to go through the long process of BABS payment in which they always

have to carry the same credit card used initially during the purchase. Credit cards allow

customers to get a paper ticket with a digit code for repeated trips or a magnetic key for annual

memberships that will eliminate the use of Clipper cards. As a result, new customers will be

more willing to try Bay Area Bike Share because most residents of San Francisco and the Bay

Area are already Clipper Card holders.

Facebook Gift Card

We also suggest to provide annual, 3-Day, and 24-Hour memberships as gift cards on the Bay

Area Bike Share Facebook page that can help to target potential audiences and increase the

number of new clients who have active and sporty lifestyles in the San Francisco Bay Area (see

Exhibit 14). Offering Facebook gift cards is the easiest and the fastest way to make useful gifts

for close friends and families for special occasions, especially for birthdays. Facebook provides

users with gift suggestions to their friends based on their interests and behavioral patterns in

social media. Therefore, this option is highly recommended, as it will allow Bay Area Bike

Share to reach its potential audience in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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VI. REFERENCES

Bay Area Bike Share. (2013). Bay Area Bike Share. Retrieved from http://bayareabikeshare.com

Bay Area Bike Share Facebook. (2013). Bay Area Bike Share. Retrieved from

https://www.facebook.com/BayAreaBikeShare

Bay Area Bike Share Twitter. (2013). Bay Area Bike Share. Retrieved from

https://twitter.com/SFBayBikeShare

Bay Area Bike Share Tumblr. (2013). Bay Area Bike Share. Retrieved from

http://bayareabikeshare.tumblr.com

Bay Area Bike Share Instagram. (2013). Bay Area Bike Share. Retrieved from

http://instagram.com/bayareabikeshare

Blackett, T. (2010, January 12). Ford’s New All-Electric Utility Van Delivers Zero Emissions

But at Twice the Trice. Retrieved from

http://enr.construction.com/products/equipment/2010/1201-AllElectricVan.asp

GMID. (2013). San Francisco City Review. Retrieved from GMID database.

San Francisco Bike Coalition. (July, 2013). Shocking New Report on San Francisco Bike Theft

Showcases Need for Real Solution. Retrieved from

http://www.sfbike.org/main/shocking-new-report-on-san-francisco-bike-theft-showcases-

need-for-real-solutions/

SFMTA. (2013). City Bike Count Up 71 Percent Since 2006. Retrieved from

http://www.sfmta.com

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VII. APPENDIX

Exhibit 1. Details About Interviewees and Social Media

Interviews:

10 males and 10 females Aged between 25 and 39 years old

12 BABS users vs. 8 Non users 16 Working professionals vs. 4 Students

7 Living in the city and working in the city 9 Living outside the city and working in the city

Exhibit 2. Examples of Comments from Social Media

Source: Facebook, 2013

Source: Twitter, 2013

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Exhibit 3. Personal Experience

Source: Photo shoot of our team from November 2013

Exhibit 4. People Are Struggling With Usage

Source: Photo shoot of people who were trying to undock the bike from November 2013

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Exhibit 5. Full/Empty Station at Peak Hours

Source: Photo of CalTrain Stations during morning and evening hours from November 2013

Exhibit 6. Inconvenient Payment System

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Exhibit 7. Peace of Mind vs. Bicycle Theft

Source: Photo shoot of “bike” from November 2013

Exhibit 8. Product

Source: Bay Area Bike Share, 2013

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Exhibit 9. Bay Area Bike Share Locations

Source: Bay Area Bike Share, 2013

Exhibit 10. Racing Challenge

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Exhibit 11. Video Contest in Social Media

Source: Instagram video “How to dock and undock bike?” from November, 2013

Exhibit 12. Bike Rotation via Electric Vehicle

Source: Enr.construction.com, 2010

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Exhibit 13. Clipper Card Cooperation

Source: Clipper Card, 2013

Exhibit 14. Facebook Gift Card

Source: Facebook, 2013