As a micromobility advocate, I’m always looking forward to connecting with fellow leaders and experts who share a commitment to transforming urban transportation landscapes.
This year’s North American Bikeshare & Scootershare Association (NABSA) conference held in Philadelphia let me do just that. With the theme ‘Building community through shared micromobility’, it once again served as a platform for collaboration, innovation, and the exchange of best practices, to explore the future of bike sharing in North America.
Having moderated a panel on growing ridership and bike share fleet challenges, I left the conference inspired by the collaborative spirit and forward-thinking strategies being developed to enhance urban mobility solutions.
Scaling Up: The Journey to 10 Million Rides
“From 0 to 10 Million Trips: How to Grow Ridership and Maintain Success” was the subject that brought me together with Justin Hanna (Director of Bike Share Toronto), Mario Delgado (Director of operations at BKT Bici Pùblica) and Pierre-Luc Marier (Chief Marketing Officer at BIXI).
The session focused on the four largest bike-share systems in North America: Bike Share Toronto, Montreal’s BIXI, Mexico City’s EcoBici, and New York’s Citi Bike.
Each bike share system has an impressive growth story to share.
- Take Bike Share Toronto for example. The scheme has experienced a 675% increase in ridership since 2016, and aims to expand its fleet to 10,000 bikes and e-bikes, and 1,000 stations by 2025.
- In Montreal, BIXI reported an 85% increase in unique users from 2019 to 2023, with one in four Montrealers now using the system. Additionally, the system saw a 235% growth in unique memberships over the same period.
- Mexico City’s EcoBike registers over two million trips each month, with an impressive average of nine trips per bike per day.
- New York’s Citi Bike system saw a surge in e-bike ridership, with an impressive 50% growth from 2022 to 2023.
These numbers underscore the increasing popularity and effectiveness of bike-share systems when seamlessly integrated into urban environments. Maintaining this success means addressing the challenges that are inherent to scaling bike share operations and finding innovative solutions to tackle them.
The panel zoomed in on what those challenges and solutions are.
Rebalancing
NABSA’s latest “State of the Industry Report,” which provides an in-depth analysis of shared micromobility in North America for 2023, identified rebalancing and recharging as the most significant cost for operators.
Rebalancing has always been a key challenge for bike-share systems, especially as they continue to grow in popularity. Ensuring bike availability in large urban fleets with high demand particularly during peak commuting hours requires careful planning and innovation to maintain a seamless rider experience.
Bike Share Toronto faces logistical challenges during the morning rush as 83% of their bikes move into the downtown area. This shift often results in bottlenecks, with users waiting up to 20 minutes to dock their bikes. EcoBici shared a similar experience, with 50% of its trips occurring at just 40% of its stations, demonstrating the intense demand at specific locations. The busiest station, located near a major train hub, handles 600 bikes per hour, often leading to long waits for users trying to dock their bikes.
To address these pressures, systems continue to expand strategically, implementing large-capacity stations and deploying multiple stations at key intersections. Additionally, our advanced back-end system empowers operators to analyse real-time ridership data and trends, allowing them to make data-driven decisions that optimise fleet rebalancing and ensure seamless service.
Recharging
As the adoption of electric bikes booming worldwide, bike-sharing operators are exploring innovative charging solutions and infrastructure.
In New York, for example, Lyft Urban Solutions is aiming for e-bikes to make up 40% of its fleet, reflecting user preferences: in 2023 e-bikes accounted for 39% of Citi Bike rides, despite making up only 20% of the fleet. To ensure continuous availability of those bikes, the system relies on a fleet of 67 vans that travel across the city to swap out depleted batteries.
With our innovative charging solution featuring next-generation charging docks, e-bikes can be charged automatically and quickly on stations. By integrating those smart stations massively through our system, we will be able to reduce battery swapping while ensuring continuous availability of bikes.
Maintenance & Repair
Maintenance and repair emerged as the second significant cost for bike-share operators, as highlighted in the NABSA 2023 Report. By prioritising the health of their fleets, operators are ensuring that bikes remain in top condition, providing riders with a smooth and reliable experience, therefore maintaining rider satisfaction.
During the panel, BIXI showcased its innovative approach to tackling maintenance challenges with its “Carrefour BIXI” (BIXI hub). This 7 days/7 maintenance centre allows bikes to be quickly repaired and returned to service without having to be sent to a warehouse. The Carrefour handles up to 100 bikes a day, significantly improving fleet turnover and availability. This 7-days-a-week maintenance centre handles up to 100 bikes a day, significantly improving fleet turnover and availability. BIXI plans to add six more hubs in the coming years, aiming to repair up to 3,500 bikes per week.
This proactive approach not only increases bike availability but also enhances the overall user experience, as bikes are kept in top condition and returned to stations promptly.
The future of bike sharing
The panel concluded with an optimistic look at the future of bike sharing, emphasising the importance of innovation and user-centric strategies to drive growth. Operators are increasingly focusing on improving user experience through technology, as seen with Bike Share Toronto’s new mobile app enhancing user experience or BIXI Montreal’s expansion to Sherbrooke, allowing shared memberships across multiple cities.
The NABSA 2024 conference showcased the vibrant and evolving landscape of micromobility in North America. Moderating the panel offered a unique opportunity to explore both the challenges and innovative solutions that bike-share systems are implementing to grow and sustain ridership.
As bike-sharing systems continue to expand and innovate, there is a collective optimism for the role they will play in building sustainable, connected, and thriving urban communities.
