The Last Mile Matters: Impact of Dockless Bike Sharing on Subway Housing Price Premium

Dockless bike sharing provides a convenient and affordable means of transport for urban residents. It solves the “last-mile problem” in public transport by reducing the travel cost between home and subway stations and thus increasing the attractiveness of distant apartments. This may affect the relationship between housing price and distance to subway and reduce the price premium enjoyed by proximate apartments. Using resale apartment data in 10 major cities in China, a difference-in-differences approach at the apartment level, and a two-step estimator at the city-month level, we find that the entry of bike sharing reduces the housing price premium by 29% per km away from a subway station. The effect is equivalent to a reduction of 1,893–2,127 CNY (282–317 USD) in commuting costs per household per annum over 30 years. The effect is driven by a relative increase in the listing price of, and in the demand for, apartments distant from vis-a-vis proximate to subway stations.