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In this post, we discuss city bike share programs, how much they cost, and where the best ones are located.
2018 Update: Best City Bike Sharing Programs In North America Right Now.
My wife and I recently returned from our honeymoon in Italy. We spent 6 days biking through Tuscan vineyards, visiting mountaintop castles, and descending down some of the most beautiful landscape I’ve ever seen.
Biking is one of the best ways to see a place. Faster than walking, but slow enough to really get a sense of a large extent of terrain. I’ve biked all over the world. Including the Middle East (when I lived abroad), around Corsica, and up Alpe d’Huez. 2019 will be my third year participating in the AIDS/LifeCycle (a charity ride from SF to LA).
If I haven’t already made my point, I absolutely love to cycle.
I also like to bike into work. That said, I hate riding my expensive road bike for fear of it getting stolen or damaged. Sure, I could buy a junker commuter bike, but we live in an expensive city, and therefore an extremely small condo.
My wife will not allow me to keep another bike in the living room. That’s why I’ve come to love bike commuting with my local bike share program. Since I live near downtown, I am conveniently located a block away from two bike share docks. I work 1.4 miles away from the condo, so it’s a brief ride and bike to work. No hustle with locking my bike up, or worrying about it being stolen.
I love my local bike share program. In this post, you will get to learn about the best city bike share programs in North America.
Table of Contents
- Bike Commuting And Bike Sharing
- Pros and Cons of Bike Share Programs
- 11 Top City Bike Share Programs In 2018
- San Francisco, California, Ford GoBike
- Washington, D.C., Capital Bikeshare
- Chicago, Illinois. Divvy
- New York City, New York, Citi Bike NYC
- Montreal, Canada, BIXI
- Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nice Ride
- San Diego, California, Discover Bike
- Miami, and Miami Beach, Florida, Citi Bike Miami
- Boston, Massachusetts, BlueBikes
- Denver, Colorado, Denver B-cycle
- Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bike Chattanooga
- Top City Bike Share Operator
- Question for You:
- Related
Bike Commuting And Bike Sharing
Biking commuting may not be for everyone. Maybe you live too far from the office. More than likely, the roads may be too rough, or you do not feel safe to ride into work.
Additionally, if you live in an expensive city, bike theft is a real problem. I sure do not want to leave my bike locked outside all day!
Lastly, maybe you don’t even have a bike!
Whatever your reason not to ride into work, Bike Share programs are making it easier to overcome your concerns.
Most cities now have bike-sharing programs that offer inexpensive, short-term rentals throughout the city and beyond. Many of these bike share programs consist of multiple bike racks across the city and offer the rider an option to bike from A to B.
More recently, dock-less bike share programs are coming onto the scene or even dock-less electric scooters.
These programs are delivered to a city by private companies, educational institutions, agencies, or public-private partnerships. The goal of these bike share programs is to provide a commute solution, along with a fun/healthy option for locals and visitors.
I love hopping on a bike share bike when traveling in a new city!
- Cheaper than public transit, owning a car, and renting a car
- A good way to show your visitors around the city
- You don’t need to own a bike (may not even fit in your small apartment)
- You aren’t attached to the bike share bike
- Occasional bikers can benefit at their own convenience
- Bikes can go farther than gas-powered vehicles into parks and other interesting places
- Healthier than driving or riding public transit
- Many bike share frames are bulky and heavy
- Depending on the city, some bike share programs are not available year round
- Sometimes is rains and snows! Not the best for bike commuting
- Safety can be an issue. You have to bring your own helmet!
- Bike share docks aren’t always where you need them to be
- If you have to go a far distance or time, you may have to pay extra
I love traveling to new cities. If you have a trip planned to one of these cities below, make sure to include bike share as a transportation option.
The list below are the best cities in North America for bike sharing. Worldwide, there are thousands of bike sharing programs. In China, for example, you can find cities with more than 20,000 available bikes each. North American cities have a long way to go to compete with European and Asian bike share programs, but we are making it happen.
Check out where people are riding below! More importantly, find out how much each city bike share program costs.
San Francisco, California, Ford GoBike
Ford GoBike is a regional public bicycle sharing system in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. It began its operations in late 2013 but really picked up speed in 2017. I personally use Ford GoBike as a micro commute solution in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of late, Ford GoBike has over 2,600 bicycles in 262 stations across San Francisco, East Bay (Oakland is where it’s at!), and San Jose.
I was one of the first people to sign up for an annual membership. It was a great experience, however, my wife did not have a membership, so every time we were downtown for an event, we’d have to Lyft home. We could have saved over $250 last year if we purchased a membership for her!
Ford GoBike Costs:
The following costs are only available through the Ford GoBike smartphone App.
Single Ride: $2 per trip. One ride up to 30 minutes. Perfect for quick, one-way trips
Access Pass: $10 per day. Explore the city with unlimited 30-minute trips in a 24 hour period. This option is perfect for tourists or visitors.
Monthly Membership: $15 per month. This is the best deal for locals. You will get unlimited 45-minute trips each month. Furthermore, if you choose to purchase an annual membership ($149 per year), you will save $31 dollars.
Founded: August 29, 2013
Geographical Area Served: San Francisco Bay Area
Number of stations: 262 Number of vehicles: 2,600
Began operation: August 29, 2013 (Bay Area Bike Share) June 28, 2017 (Ford GoBike)
Website: https://www.fordgobike.com/
Washington, D.C., Capital Bikeshare
Capital Bikeshare has operated in the Washington, D.C. region, plus parts of suburban Montgomery County, Maryland, since 2008. It’s administered by Motivate, a Brooklyn-based private company, and receives funding from both the Federal Highways Administration and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. Bikes are available year-round, 24 hours a day.
The largest bike share stations are located near Metro stations and major bus stops, making it easier for commuters to bike from residential neighborhoods to a transit line.
Capital Bikeshare Costs:
Single Trip: $2 per trip. One ride up to 30 minutes. Perfect for quick, one-way trips
24-Hour Pass: $8 per day. Explore the city with unlimited 30-minute trips in a 24 hour period. This option is perfect for tourists or visitors.
Annual Membership: $85 per year. This is the best deal for locals. You will get unlimited 30-minute trips.
Founded: 2010, Washington, D.C.
Geographical Area Served: All of Washington, D.C.; all of Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia; adjacent suburban areas of Maryland and Virginia.
Owner: Arlington, Alexandria, District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Fairfax County
Number of stations: 500
Operator: Motivate
Annual ridership: 2,100,000+
Daily ridership: 5,700+
Website: https://www.capitalbikeshare.com/
Chicago, Illinois. Divvy
Divvy is a Bike Share program in Chicago. It is administered by the Chicago Department of Transportation. Like Capital Bikeshare, it is also operated by Motivate. Divvy is largely funded (aside from membership and usage fees) by a partnership between Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Federal Government.
Divvy is available for use year round, 24 hours a day. Yes, even in the winter time when it is freezing out! It can also be icy, so please be careful! Divvy’s strategy is similar to Capital Bikeshare. Most of the bike share stations are located near Chicago’s transit system.
Divvy Costs:
Single Ride: $3 per trip. Perfect for quick, one-way trips
Explorer Pass: $15 per day. This option is perfect for tourists or visitors exploring Chicago.
Annual Membership: $99 per year. This is the best deal for locals and frequent riders.
Operator: Motivate
Geographical Area Served: Chicago’s North and West Sides. Much of the South and Southwest Sides. The network extends west and north into close-in suburbs such as Oak Park and Evanston. Densest coverage is in core Chicago neighborhoods such as the Loop and Near North.
Number of Bikes: 6,000-plus (as of early 2018)
Number of Stations: 570-plus (as of early 2018)
Website: https://www.divvybikes.com/
New York City, New York, Citi Bike NYC
Citi Bike is located in New York City. It is the largest and most active bike share system in North American. You may be sensing a trend here. Citi Bike is also owned and operated by Motivate International Inc. The bank, CitiBank is its sponsor, and therefore, the bikes are branded accordingly.
The program is available year-round, 24 hours a day.
Con: Citi Bike is only available in the city’s busiest neighborhoods. This limited availability is also an issue for tourists who want to explore more of the city.
Citi Bike Costs:
Single Ride: $3 per trip. Perfect for quick, one-way trips. Up to 30 minutes per trip.
Explorer Pass: $12 per day. This option is perfect for tourists or visitors exploring the city. Bikes are available for 30-minute rides, for a 24-hour period.
Annual Membership: $169 per year. This is the best deal for locals and frequent riders. Unlimited 45-minute rides.
More Benefits: Citi Bike Offers special rates to the following groups: Citi cardholders, Oxford Members, NYCHA, SNAP, Credit Union Members, etc. Check out Citi Bike out the next time you are in New York!
Number of Bikes: 12,000+
Number of Stations: 600+
Geographical Area Served: Most of Manhattan, much of Brooklyn, parts of Queens, and core neighborhoods of Jersey City, New Jersey.
The system is in the process of a multi-year expansion that will further expand coverage in the outer boroughs.
Website: https://www.citibikenyc.com/
Montreal, Canada, BIXI
BIXI Montréal is a public bicycle sharing system serving Montréal, Quebec, Canada. BIXI Montréal is a non-profit organization created in 2014 by the city of Montreal to manage its bike-sharing system. Note that a precursor was launched in May 2009 by Public Bike System Company, but that effort went bankrupt. Interestingly, it was North America’s first large-scale bike sharing system. Until Citi Bike opened in New York City, it was also the largest.
BIXI is well-integrated with Montreal’s transit system, including the Metro. This bike share program shuts down seasonally, weather dependent.
BIXI Montréal Membership costs:
One-Year Membership: $91
90-Day Membership: $57
30-Day Membership: $31
Single Trip: $2 per trip. One ride up to 30 minutes. Perfect for quick, one-way trips
24-Hour Pass: $5 per day. Explore the city with unlimited 30-minute trips in a 24 hour period. This option is perfect for tourists or visitors.
Pay as you go:
Geographical Area Served: Mostly south of Autoroute 25, east of Autoroute 40, north of Autoroute 20, and west of the St. Lawrence River, with isolated pockets in adjacent neighborhoods and cities.
Owner: Montréal
Number of stations: 540
Number of vehicles: 6,250
Founder: Société en commandite Stationnement de Montréal (SCSM)
Website: https://montreal.bixi.com/
Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nice Ride
Nice Ride Minnesota is a seasonally operated nonprofit bicycle sharing system in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota (shuts down for the winter – roughly from November to early April, depending on conditions). This bike share program was based on the BIXI brand created by Public Bike System Company.
Big News: Nice Ride now has dockless bikes available!
Nice Ride Minnesota was launched in 2010 and is considered one of North America’s older bike sharing programs. It’s heavily supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield. Like many others, it is well-integrated with Minneapolis-St. Paul’s park and rapid transit systems.
Costs are reasonable compared with other bike share programs. Currently, Nice Ride is expanding to a number of vacation towns north of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The goal is to create a statewide membership system for weekend travelers.
Nice Ride Costs:
Single Ride: $2 per trip. Perfect for spontaneous, one-way trips.
Day Pass: $6 per day. This option is perfect for tourists or visitors exploring Minneapolis.
Annual Membership: $75 per year. This is the best deal for locals and frequent riders!
Operator: Motivate
Number of Bikes: 1,800-plus
Number of Stations: 200-plus
Geographical Area Served: Minneapolis and St. Paul proper
Website: https://www.niceridemn.com/
San Diego, California, Discover Bike
Discover Bike San Diego used to be DecoBike San Diego. DecoBike is a multi-city bike-sharing operator, which still has some responsibility for the Discover Bike system. Discover Bike has great coverage throughout the core of the city. However, the outer city and suburban sprawl do not have many stations.
Discover Bike relies on station sponsors and outdoor advertising (hence the credit card brand) to fill the gaps between operating expenses and user-generated revenue. It operates year-round.
The dock stations are solar-powered.
Station locations are excellent for tourists. However, commuters from peripheral neighborhoods may have trouble with the system.
Discover Bike Costs
Pro Tip: Discover cardholders can receive 20% off an annual membership.
As you can see below, annual fees are a bit pricier other bike share programs. However, the three-month membership option is useful for college students who only live in San Diego part of the year.
Operator: DecoBike
Sponsor: Discover
Number of Bikes: 2,000
Number of Stations: 200
Geographical Area Served: Downtown San Diego and the waterfront area. Docks are located in and around Balboa Park, along with the University Avenue corridor between the 805 and Scripps Mercy Hospital. Furthermore, they are located around San Diego beaches and busy neighborhoods in central San Diego.
Website: http://www.discoverbikesandiego.com/
Miami, and Miami Beach, Florida, Citi Bike Miami
Citi Bike Miami bike share bikes look nearly identical to Citi Bike NYC. That’s because this bike sharing system is also sponsored (and branded) by CitiBank.
Pro tip: While the bikes may look the same, Miami and Miami Beach bike share systems are administered separately. As such, bikes in Miami cannot be docked in Miami Beach.
Similar to San Diego, DecoBike also operates Citi Bike Miami. Personally, I find DecoBike websites to be less informative than bike share systems operated by Motivate.
Aside from the consideration above, Citi Bike Miami is easy to use. It covers the majority of tourist hotspots. Furthermore, costs are affordable to visitors. This bike share system is operational year-round, 24 hours a day.
Citi Bike Miami Costs:
Operator: DecoBike
Sponsor: CitiBank
Number of Bikes: 2,000+
Number of Stations: 200+
Geographical Area Served: Southern half of Miami Beach and central Miami (between FL-112, I-95, and FL-913).
Website: https://citibikemiami.com/
Boston, Massachusetts, BlueBikes
BlueBikes in Boston just changed its name from Hubway. The bike share program in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline changed to BlueBikes in March 2018. BlueBikes is operated by Motivate International Inc.
The makeover is part of a new six-year partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
“Hubway will re-launch as Blue Bikes…and become an even bigger and better bike-share system,” the company said. “Blue Cross Blue Shield’s support will greatly expand access to bike share in the metro region and allow for major updates.”
Blue Bike stations are plentiful near T stations, particularly along the Red and Green Lines, near Boston‘s waterfront, and in tourist districts.
The system is ideal for commuters and tourists despite the steep pricing. BlueBike closes during the winter (mid-November to early April). Note that the Cambridge stations remain open through the winter if conditions allow.
BlueBike Costs:
Single Trip: $2.50. Perfect for a spontaneous, one-way ride.
Adventure Pass: $10 per day. Unlimited access to 2-hour trips in a 24-hour period.
Annual: $99. Best deal for locals or frequent riders.
Operator: Motivate
Sponsor: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Number of Bikes: 1,800
Number of Stations: 200
Geographical Area Served: Central Boston, including the Back Bay, Financial District, Beacon Hill, and the North End. In addition, hubs are located in Cambridge, Brookline, and Somerville.
Website: https://www.bluebikes.com/
Denver, Colorado, Denver B-cycle
Denver B-cycle is a multi-city, public-private bikesharing program that is owned and operated by Denver Bike Sharing, a 501(c)3 non-profit.
B-cycle operates year-round, from 5 am to midnight.
Pro tip: notice the small price difference between annual and plus memberships. The latter might be a better deal. Additionally, B-cycle is one of the better bikesharing programs for leisurely riding because of its low usage fees.
B-cycle costs:
Operator: B-cycle
Sponsor: Open to multiple sponsorships. Powered by Kaiser Permanente.
Number of Bikes: 709
Number of Stations: 89
Geographical Area Served: Central Denver, mostly east of I-25, south of MLK Boulevard and Ballpark neighborhood, west of Colorado Boulevard, and north of Alameda. A small, somewhat isolated cluster exists near the University of Denver.
Website: https://www.denverbcycle.com/
Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bike Chattanooga
Bike Chattanooga is an enjoyable and cost-effective way to get around the city.
According to the Bike Chattanooga website: “The Chattanooga Department of Transportation (CDOT) provides the Bike Chattanooga system as part of our mission to make efficient transportation viable for all commuters. Providing stations and well-maintained bikes creates opportunities for residents and visitors to park once and bike between destinations.”
It’s great for tourists! Visitors can explore Chattanooga’s riverfront and the nearby central business district. Additionally, it is great for students at the University of Tennessee and commuters who live in close-in neighborhoods.
Bike Chattanooga is available year-round, 24 hours a day.
Bike Chattanooga Costs:
Day Pass: $8. Ideal for visitors, tourists, and short-term users.
3-Day Pass: $15 great for short stays in Chattanooga.
Annual Pass: $50 Best deal for Chattanooga locals.
Number of Bikes: 300
Number of Stations: 41
Geographical Area Served: Downtown Chattanooga, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and the riverfront area, with an isolated hub near Tennessee River Park.
Website: https://bikechattanooga.com/
Currently, Motivate manages the largest bike share systems in the United States. Additionally, Motivate operates some of the largest programs in the world! Motivate operates the following bike systems in the United States:
- Ford GoBike (California Bay Area),
- Citi Bike (New York and Jersey City),
- Divvy (Chicago),
- CoGo Bike Share (Columbus, Ohio),
- Capital Bike Share (Washington, D.C., Arlington and Alexandria, Va., and Montgomery County, Md.),
- Bluebikes (Boston, Somerville, Cambridge and Brookline, Mass.),
- BIKETOWN (Portland, OR)
Question for You:
Do you use your local bike share program?