The number of users and costs of shared bicycles are skyrocketing

(TNS) — Bike-sharing programs in the United States and Canada have reached record highs in popularity, but rising prices are putting the transportation option out of reach for many users, according to a new report.

In 2023, people took a record 157 million trips on bikeshare, e-bikes and e-scooters, the National Association of City Transportation Officials said in its recently completed survey on urban micromobility trends. This was a 20% increase over 2022 and the third consecutive year of growth.

Philadelphia’s bike-sharing system Indego surpassed 1 million rides last year for the first time in its 8½-year history and is expanding its network of docking stations.

But while public transit, roads and streets are supported by the government, most shared mobility systems are run by private companies or nonprofits and rely on investors or philanthropy.

“Passengers basically pay the full cost of their trip every time,” said Camille Boggan, program manager for policy and practice at NACTO.

Unstable funding has forced bike-sharing systems in several cities to cease operations, some temporarily and others for good, according to the report, which recommends increased government support.

For example, Houston’s BCycle nonprofit shut down June 30, unable to raise funds as ridership took a hit during the pandemic. Cincinnati’s Red Bike closed in March; the public raised $500,000 to reopen it, but the system faces an uncertain future. And Lyft shut down its sprawling, station-based bike-sharing system last year in Minneapolis after losing a corporate sponsorship.

Meanwhile, prices have steadily risen along with operating costs. In July, CitiBike in New York raised fares for e-bikes by 20%. Users there now pay up to $15.99 for a 30-minute ride.

Indego, Philadelphia’s only bike-share system, is going in part in the opposite direction: This month, after a six-year absence, it will roll out the popular single-ride pass. The pass will dramatically reduce the cost for users who want to make short, one-way trips.

“I think this will save people money. We’ve been hearing for a while that people want a more affordable option,” said Nate Bowman-Johnston, general manager of Indego, which is operated by Bicycle Transit Systems. “That’s what we’re hoping to be able to provide.”

Before the change, the cheapest fare available on Indego was a $15 day pass, which proved to be “out of price range” for many, Bowman-Johnston said.

As a result, Philadelphia was among the most expensive bike-share programs among 19 major cities, according to an analysis by Bloomberg news site CityLab, which compared the costs of 30-minute trips on a pedal bike and an electric bike versus public transit fares.

SEPTA’s basic subway fare is $2, while the outlet estimated that a half-hour ride on a traditional bike cost $15 and $21 on an electric bike, which are more expensive to purchase and have higher operating costs.

Currently, a single-ride pass on Indego costs $4.50 for 30 minutes on a classic bike, with an additional 30 cents per minute fee for electric bikes. (Indego does not offer electric scooters, which are not allowed on Pennsylvania streets.)

“That puts them right in the middle as far as affordability,” said Boggan of the transportation officials association, pointing to a demand for short trips that was reflected in Indego riders lamenting the loss of single-ride passes.

“They’re a practical solution for one-way trips that combine with public transit and carpooling,” said Waffiyah Murray, Indego program manager at the city’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS), which owns and oversees the bike-share system.

No taxpayer money goes toward Indego’s operations. Revenue comes from long-term passes that function as subscriptions, user fees, advertising and sponsorship from Independence Blue Cross. Bicycle Transit Systems, a for-profit company that also operates systems in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, handles maintenance and runs the business.

Although their contract says the city doesn’t cover operating expenses, “we work closely with OTIS,” Bowman-Johnston said. The agency gets state and federal grant money earmarked for micromobility to help fund capital and expansion projects. “In the end, we take the financial risk,” Bowman-Johnston said.

Servicing e-bikes, which make up a growing share of vehicles, is a costly and labor-intensive endeavor. Workers must retrieve depleted batteries and take them to warehouses for recharging (most systems, including Indego’s, don’t have power for that task at docking stations) and put the batteries back into the bikes, NACTO’s Boggan said.

Then there’s the issue of keeping up with e-bike technology.

“Every two years a new model comes out because the technology is updated,” Boggan said. “And when an e-bike supplier stops offering technical support, you have to upgrade to the new model. It’s like an iPhone.”

Indego had offered a single-ride pass until 2018, but canceled it after a series of scams and stolen bikes.

Some Philadelphia riders would open fake Indego accounts with stolen credit cards and even gift cards, then use the mobile app to check out bikes but never return them, Bowman-Johnston said. The app’s security has since been beefed up, she said, and it was safe to retrieve the pass.

Indego aims to expand its bike fleet to 375 docking stations by 2027, up from 250 currently, and eventually grow to about 3,000. Key areas for the new service include Mill Creek/Parkside, Kingsessing, Kensington/Richmond, Wynnefield/Overbrook and uptown East Falls, the company says.

The NACTO report made three recommendations to sustain the growth of bikeshare programs in North America: invest public money in capital and operating costs to make the service more affordable to use, in line with rail and bus fares; eliminate sales taxes on shared mobility; and build bike lane networks in communities.

For example, the Los Angeles Metro subsidizes bike sharing so heavily that pay-as-you-go fares for transit, classic bikes, and e-bikes are $1.75 each. In Washington, D.C., classic rides cost $2.50 and e-bike rides cost $5.50, compared to $2.25 for public transit.

San Francisco recently began subsidizing its Bay Wheels bike-share program with a federal grant to combat climate change, and spent money on electrifying docking stations. It has managed to reduce the price of its annual pass by 20%, Boggan said.

© 2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.