B-Cycle program use grows by 28 percent in 2014

Lexie Wallace started using Madison B-Cycle in the spring of 2013, a few months after she arrived in the city to attend graduate school.  By the end of summer she had purchased an annual membership.  Wallace said she found the bike-sharing program to be a convenient addition to her commuting habits.

And she is not the only one.  If you have been downtown Madison in the past few years, you have probably seen any number of stations consisting of about ten red bikes with gray baskets above the handle bars. 

Claire Hurley, Trek's Field Operations Manager who oversees all B-Cycle stations in Madison and Milwaukee, said the program was launched in 2011, and was originally planned as a joint venture between Trek and the city of Madison.  But after the city pulled its funding, Trek donated the first 35 stations and foot the bill for five years of operating costs, according to Hurley.  Demand for the ride sharing program has since grown.

More than 100,000 trips were taken using B-Cycle in 2014, up 28 percent from 2013, according to its annual report released in January.  In addition, B-Cycle added four stations, increasing the total to 39 in Madison. 

Hurley said surveys show that many people use the bikes in addition to other modes of transportation, particularly Madison's metro system. 

“People will take the bus half way, or maybe they'll take the bus the whole way into work because they're tired or it's raining, and then in the afternoon when it's nicer out, they'll take a bike for their evening commute,” she said.

The heaviest trip volumes among members are at lunchtime (12:00-12:15pm) and the end of the work day (4:45-5:15pm), according to the annual report.  But commuting for work is not the only way members are using B-Cycle. 

Wallace owns two bikes of her own.  She said she also volunteered for DreamBikes, a non-profit organization that recycles bikes and then gifts them to the needy. 

“I was like, 'there are enough bikes in the world for everybody to have one.  There's no reason for us to share bikes,’” she said.

But Wallace said she eventually recognized value in B-Cycle at times where it was inconvenient to use her own bikes.

“The reason I was primarily interested in them was that it was great at times in which I didn't know exactly where I would be going for the whole night,” she said.  “And so I could park the bike, and then walk somewhere with friends, and I didn't always have to be saying things such as 'oh hang on, let me go get my bike, I'll meet you there.'”

Wallace said she also uses the bikes to commute to Camp Randall for Badger football games.  She said the big crowds makes it difficult to keep track of her own bike.  

“I was like, 'I just don't want to think about it, so I'll just take a B-cycle,' which was a surprising convenience,” she said.

And Wallace said she could care less that not everyone thinks the bikes are stylish.

“They make you feel like ET, or pretty dorky, but, you know, own it.  You're riding the bike share.  It's great.”

Hurley said that Trek is currently working to increase the number of stations to 75-100 over the next five years.  She said they would like the bike share to expand outside the immediate downtown area where most of the B-Cycle stations are located.

“What we want to do with future stations is really connect some different neighborhoods that don't yet have B-Cycle as a transportation option."