BikeShare: A Community Bicycle Lending Program

Community context

The City of Toronto is the capital of Ontario and home to 2.5 million people. It is the centre of the Greater Toronto Area, Canada’s largest metropolis with a population of 5 million, and is expected to grow more than 10% by 2021.

Downtown Toronto is densely developed with commercial, residential, institutional and other land uses. It offers a strong economy and high quality of life, attributes that are partly due to a strong transit system and urban design that is supportive of both walking and cycling. In the 1970s, a community-based political reform movement raised the profile of quality-of-life issues in Toronto’s downtown and nearby neighbourhoods. One legacy of several battles against road expansion projects was strong public support for cycling as an integral part of Toronto’s transportation system.

Today, City of Toronto programs support cycling networks, safety, promotion and special events. The City’s dynamic Cycling Committee brings together numerous stakeholders and drives many aspects of the municipal cycling agenda. In 1995, Bicycling Magazine named Toronto the top city for cycling in North America.

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Organizational context

Several community-based organizations actively promote cycling in Toronto. One of the most important is the Community Bicycle Network (CBN), which was founded in 1993 and has over 170 regular volunteers. BikeShare, the subject of this case study, is one of CBN’s many projects. 

Since 1993, CBN has housed and supported a wide range of initiatives related to bicycle repair, skills development, bicycle recycling, policy development, livable streets, urban recovery, and voluntary legal and advisory support. It has run bike clubs for children in low-income neighbourhoods, a bike tool co-op, bike repair workshops by and for women, a cross-border bicycle recycling project with the City of Havana, a bike lending program, earn-and-learn workshops for survivors of domestic violence, a choir on bikes, and a cycling advocacy group.

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Rationale and objectives

The goal of CBN’s BikeShare is to increase cycling in Toronto by getting more bikes on the streets. Its objectives are: 

• To provide the community with a fleet of bikes, stationed at hubs around the city, that grows larger as demand increases
  
  

• To make a visible and positive contribution to the image and attractiveness of cycling in Toronto
  
  

• To improve air quality and fight climate change by reducing air emissions from transportation

BikeShare was inspired by Amsterdam’s 1960s-era White Bikes project, which failed because its unlocked bikes were quickly stolen or vandalized. To instill a sense of value and appreciation in its members, BikeShare decided to store its bikes securely and require an annual fee or contribution of volunteer effort from its members. 

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Actions

Program development. In late 2000, CBN started work on a BikeShare business plan that set key objectives and determined financial needs and possible funding sources. The business plan also explored likely BikeShare users, and established a target service area corresponding to the boundaries of the former City of Toronto (population 650,000), which is now the core of the Greater Toronto Area. The program was launched in May 2001, offering a fleet of 50 bikes at five hubs. 

Bikes. By 2005, BikeShare offered a fleet of 150 bikes. About half the bikes have been donated and refurbished, and the others have been purchased with funds from sponsors. The program has negotiated a favourable deal with suppliers and is able to purchase new bikes at a discounted cost. The bikes are equipped simply, maximizing functionality and safety while minimizing attractiveness to thieves. All bikes have a name and number, bright yellow paint, a single gear, coaster brakes, bell, basket, reflectors and a lock. Users must provide their own front light after dark, as required by law.

Hubs. By 2004, BikeShare had 15 hubs at locations including bike shops, cafés, stores, student centres, community centres and other public buildings. Hub hosts provide secure bike storage space, help pass holders pick up and drop off their bikes, enter BikeShare transaction data into the on-line database, and notify CBN of any problems with the bike fleet.

Membership. BikeShare members receive a season pass (valid from April through December) in exchange for $25 or four hours of volunteer service with any organization. The two-page membership agreement outlines the terms of bike use, the user’s indemnification of BikeShare and related parties, and what to do in case of accident. Pass holders must be competent cyclists at least 18 years of age, and are eligible for ancillary benefits including discounts at participating stores.

Borrowing process. After showing their BikeShare pass at a hub, members can borrow a bike, keep it for up to three days, and return it to any hub. The late fee for overdue bikes is $2 per day. Members with overdue bikes receive one reminder phone call, and have their season pass cancelled after a week. Members also have their pass cancelled if they have two bikes stolen from their possession.

Administration. BikeShare uses a Web-based database to track the location and use of bikes. Staff can monitor the borrowing record and maintenance needs of each bike, identify a shortage or excess of bikes at any hub, and identify usage patterns of members such as a history of keeping bikes out past their due date. The software was developed initially by a CBN volunteer, and has been enhanced several times to add flexibility and improve reporting functions. 

Promotion. BikeShare relies mainly on the advertising power of its yellow bikes. It has issued media releases to accompany major program milestones, and received some free advertising space in community and weekly newspapers.

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Results

BikeShare’s strong growth is summarized in the following table. In 2003, the average BikeShare member borrowed a bike more than six times and the average bike was borrowed more than 15 times. At any given time, 65% to 75% of the BikeShare fleet was in use.

BikeShare provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate the demographics of Toronto cyclists. Frequent users include doctors, lawyers and other professionals in addition to students and people with low incomes. The program intends to gather and analyze more information about its members in the future. 

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Participants

Community Bicycle Network (CBN). Staff hired by CBN manage BikeShare and direct bike repair and maintenance. Numerous CBN volunteers help with many aspects of the program.

Hubs. Each BikeShare hub is hosted by a business or community facility that provides staff time to help BikeShare pass holders borrow and return bikes.

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Resources

The Community Bicycle Network employs a full-time BikeShare project manager who oversees day-to-day operations, and a full-time lead technician who is directs bike repair and maintenance. Volunteers assist with many of these tasks. However, the program is now reaching capacity and is developing plans to add resources. 

Most of BikeShare’s costs were funded by grants, but the project’s original business plan called for it to be financially self-sustaining within several years. BikeShare is moving steadily toward this goal by diverdifying its funding sources and creating incentives like the sale of naming rights for new bikes. In the future, the project may also be funded through revenues from other CBN programs.

BikeShare’s principal funding sources include the following:

• Memberships — which provide about $3,500 annually
  
  

• Toronto Atmospheric Fund — which provided $130,000 between 1999 and 2004
  
  

• Transport Canada’s Moving on Sustainable Transportation (MOST) program — which provided $47,400 in 2001
  
  

• Other organizations — including Ontario Power Generation (which funded development of the business plan), Toronto Community Foundation, TD Friends of the Environment, Mountain Equipment Co-op and Bell Canada

Several bike stores have made in-kind contributions by supplying bike frames, parts and services like painting. Individual donors have provided bikes for refurbishing.

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Timeline

Late 2000. Development of business plan 

May 2001. Program launch

June 2003. Implementation of Web-based tracking system

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Lessons learned

Important lessons from BikeShare’s experience include:

• Community bike lending is a workable concept that, in the context of a non-governmental organization, requires determined volunteers, cheap rent and hard work.
  
  

• Using simple, low-tech bikes helps to minimize costs and reduce theft. 
  
  

• A centralized bike tracking system like BikeShare’s Web-based software is required to minimize confusion, especially when dealing with multiple hubs.
   

• It is advisable to deal directly and firmly with the few problem members who persist in keeping borrowed bikes past their promised return date.
  
  

• Local bike shops can be willing to provide frames and other bike parts, and municipal governments are likely to be supportive.
  
  

• Potential funders may be concerned by the possibility of bike theft and vandalism (such as that experienced by Amsterdam’s White Bike project, which lost 90% of its fleet within a year). These concerns can be overcome by adopting a membership-based lending process and storing bikes securely with a reliable locking system. In BikeShare’s first year, seven bikes were permanently lost to theft while locked improperly. Others were stolen, but recovered with help of observant bike messengers. 
  
  

• Bike lending programs are interesting “good news” stories that generate media interest. BikeShare received extensive coverage in Toronto and across Canada.

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Next steps

BikeShare has recently joined with partners including Moving the Economy, a City of Toronto agency, to develop a New Mobility Hub project in the Toronto region. This project will offer the prospect of seamless, sustainable door-to-door travel by linking up several sustainable transportation options in one location. In 2005, a New Mobility Hub demonstration site will be created at Toronto's Exhibition Place, connecting a BikeShare hub with public transit (Toronto Transit Commission) and commuter rail (GO Transit) services.

The New Mobility Hub partnership supports BikeShare's future goal of strengthening links with Toronto's transit system and eventually locating hubs at subway stations. The involved groups are seeking ways to overcome challenges related to property and labour issues, and an automated lending system using smart cards may be part of the solution.

The program is reaching the capacity of its current resources, and has created a focus group to identify the opportunities and challenges posed by expansion.

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Images are courtesy of Community Bicycle Network