Divvy could get $50M expansion, including e-assist and dockless bikes in all 50 wards

The proposal would add 175 new stations and an additional 10,500 new bikes. (The current system has 6,000 bikes). The bikes would include e-assist and a hybrid locking system that allows use in Divvy docks, or locking to regular bike racks.

Lyft (who owns Motivate, which currently operates Divvy) would be guaranteed exclusive rights to continue operating the only bike share service in Chicago for 9 years, plus they would get advertising rights. The deal also includes revenue sharing between the city and Lyft. 

Price increases would be capped at 10% annually, unless CDOT approves higher rates.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/rahm-emanuel-privatize-divvy-...

This seems like a game-changer, especially for South and Southwest neighborhoods that currently don't have access to Divvy. E-assist bikes will make last-mile connections to transit even easier, and make longer distance bike commuting more realistic on bike-share. A big expansion of Divvy will also require a big investment in bike infrastructure in those neighborhoods as well, which hopefully is what the city will use the $77M in guaranteed revenue for.

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Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on March 13, 2019 at 3:23am

Streetsblog coverage, including some of the potential downsides of the proposal:

https://chi.streetsblog.org/2019/03/12/lyft-may-spend-50m-to-expand...

Permalink Reply by Madopal (16.5 mi) on March 13, 2019 at 8:09am

I agree it's not perfect, but it's darn close. Despite the Lyft connection:
1) They already own the company that's currently running Divvy

2) The city will maintain control over the system, just like they do now

3) There's no other way I'm hearing to get this level of expansion anytime soon, and we're already going too slowly for the outlying wards.

I definitely want to hear the details on how the rollout will go, how balancing dockless vs. docked bikes will work, etc. But I'm excited to see this, and as the NW Side community rep for MBAC, I'm looking forward to more quickly actually getting some bikeshare up here. Love to hear more from anyone after the MBAC meeting tomorrow. We're doing a bit of a revamp, so two of us (Jacob & I) will be presenting on our areas.

Permalink Reply by Phillip Hutchinson on March 13, 2019 at 9:28am

I don't really understand why this is being compared to the parking meter deal. That deal was 75 years and resulted in a single payment, with nothing else in return and no upgrades to the service. This Lyft/Divvy deal is only 9 years, and includes a massive system expansion that wouldn't otherwise happen, plus we get cash payments and a portion of future revenues, and the city is no longer on the hook for operating losses.

I get that Lyft is an evil car-culture company run by a bunch of Silicon Valley billionare bros and I also get that their drivers routinely terrorize cyclists in Chicago, but this also seems like a sign that Lyft is taking bike share seriously, and worth investing in, so maybe there's some hope? 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 13, 2019 at 9:42am

It's nowhere near the scope of the parking meter deal, but 9 years is a very long time in terms of bike stuff here. The monopoly aspect of the deal concerns me. Otherwise, it looks like it could be good. The devil is definitely in the details.

Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on March 19, 2019 at 12:45pm

Great news for branding!

Now Lyft can eliminate the Divvy app and add a bike share option to their app. Soon they'll expand into smaller cities and tourist destinations like The Grand Canyon, Yosemite, The Great Wall of China, and Saudi Arabia.

Not to forget humanitarian an philanthropy corporate do goodery free rides will be offered in Uganda and Ethiopia so Women won't have to walk 14 miles round trip for water and a bag of rice.

Simply reserve your bike,scan the code on the stem and away you go to the Red Cross food distribution center.

They're also looking at partnering with Coachella and Burning Man as official bike shares.

Lastly from the mind of Elon Musk comes Lyft Air.

It's a flying bike!

Range 100 miles and an extended time dock time of 2 hours.

Permalink Reply by David S. on April 12, 2019 at 12:35pm

"The only good brand is a dead brand"  Matthew some-thing

Permalink Reply by Phillip Hutchinson on April 16, 2019 at 3:01am

18mph on a Divvy... I hope the brakes are in good working order. 

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