The winter weather is almost behind us, and for your friendly neighborhood Chaddick team, that means it’s time to get excited about summer biking around Chicago!

Apparently, Mayor Emanuel is thinking the same thing. He, along with the city’s Department of Transportation, is proposing amendments to the contract with Divvy operator Motivate International.

We at Chaddick are fully behind this proposal, which, if passed by City Council, would bring bikesharing to all 50 of the city’s wards and make hopping on a Divvy bike much easier for tens of thousands.

We feel passionately about this issue. Our report, Dimensions of Divvy, authored by C. Scott Smith and Riley O’Neil, traced the evolution of our docked bikeshare system through its first and second expansions to its current network of 600 stations and 6,200 bicycles. We found that Divvy has:

• improved connections to public transit
• made strides toward broadening access to lower-income communities; and
• provided a time-saving travel option to private vehicle travel

Plus, thanks to Divvy For Everyone and other community-based programs, Chicago is regarded by many as a national success story when it comes to bikesharing.

But the road ahead is bumpy. The largest share of Divvy bikeshare stations remains concentrated in middle- to higher-income areas of the city. Much of the south and southwest sides are underserved, with little relief in sight.

The areas of greatest economic hardship in Chicago (shown above in red) tend to be on the South, Southwest and West sides. Our analysis shows that, although the share of stations in these areas has increased (see pie charts), these neighborhoods continue to be disadvantaged in terms of both the quantity and density of stations.

Also, usage in some areas across the city has plateaued, and future investments remain uncertain. A looming funding shortfall, coupled with Divvy’s chronic inability to return a profit, makes it imperative that the city find new ways to improve the system. We can’t afford to hit the brakes as technological advancements – such as electric bikes and dockless systems – change the way bikes are being shared nationwide.

The Mayor’s efforts to address these problems through an amendment to the contract with Motivate are commendable. It would grant Motivate, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lyft, exclusive rights to offer the sharing of bikes in the city over a nine-year period in exchange for assuming the financial burden of extensive expansion, operation, and maintenance.

Under the proposal, Lyft would add 10,500 bikes and 175 stations over the next three years to create a total system with approximately 16,500 bikes and 800 stations. Residents would see a 50 percent increase in bicycles over the first year alone. Excitingly, all new bikes would be “electric pedal-assist” with “hybrid-locking” capability, giving riders ready access to state-of-the-art mobility technologies. The agreement requires city approval when fares are increased more than 10 percent in a year, and the city retains approval over any new fare product, fare policy and fees as well as oversight via service level agreements.

Are there risks? Of course. But the upside is considerable, making this a good deal for our city. Let’s make it so everyone can enjoy a Divvy bike year-round, including during our glorious summer seasons!

— Chaddick Team