Houston BCycle to close at the end of June after 12 years in business – Houston Public Media

Houston will soon be without a bike share network for the first time in more than a decade.

Houston BCycle, which was established by the city government in 2012 and has grown to 160 stations in recent years, will cease operations at the end of June amid falling revenue, rising costs and deteriorating infrastructure, according to a member of its board of directors. directors.

The non-profit network, which offers traditional and electric bicycles as a means of transportation and also for recreational purposes, had already planned to end its operations after receiving a $500,000 injection from the city last fall . Houston BCycle’s plan at the time was to continue until METRO, the area’s mass transit provider, could build its own network.

“It’s a really difficult decision,” James Llamas, vice chairman of BCycle’s board, said Friday. “We think bike sharing is great for the city of Houston. We know Houstonians love bike sharing. Unfortunately, as directors of a non-profit organization, we don’t have the ability to lack of money. We have to examine the finances we have and we have had to realize with difficulty that they are no longer sufficient to carry out our mission.

METRO’s board of directors voted last September to devote $10 million to a five-year bike-sharing contract with Quebec company PBSC Urban Solutions. But it’s unclear whether the transit agency, which has since undergone leadership changes, is moving forward with that plan.

Spokespeople for METRO and Lyft, the ride-hailing company that owns PBSC Urban Solutions, did not immediately comment Friday on the status of the agreement. Llamas, whose nonprofit previously sought a partnership with METRO, said it appears METRO’s new leadership is “reconsidering the commitments they made.”

Joe Cutrufo, executive director of BikeHouston, a cycling advocacy nonprofit, urged the transit agency to continue with the deal as planned. He said some Houston residents and visitors rely on the bike share network for their daily transportation needs.

“Last year, the METRO Board of Directors voted unanimously in favor of a state-of-the-art bike sharing system because they realized it could expand the system’s footprint. transportation by providing easy first and last mile access. the new chair’s emphasis on attracting new riders.

Houston BCycle’s ridership peaked at around 30,000 per month during the summer of 2022, according to Llamas, who said revenue struggled to keep up with operating costs as the organization to non-profit was trying to move from a primarily recreational service to a more transit-oriented network. Sponsorships began to decline after the COVID-19 pandemic began, he said, and monthly ridership fell below 10,000 after BCycle raised its prices and closed many of its stations.

The network reduced its prices in February, while partnering with local management districts and Rice University to reopen some of the closed stations. This helped increase attendance, Llamas said, but the organization was unable to secure additional funding from county, municipal or state agencies.

“Bike share systems across the United States have experienced similar challenges,” Jennifer Ostlind, interim director of the city’s Department of Planning and Development, said Friday. “Houston’s system has outlasted many others, but we have learned that effective systems that serve more than recreational purposes require support from businesses and the public to remain viable.”

A spokesperson for Houston Mayor John Whitmire, who was elected in December and named some of METRO’s new board members, did not immediately respond to an email Friday seeking comment on whether he would support a new bike-sharing system. His administration has criticized infrastructure projects that expand bike lanes at the expense of vehicle lanes, a departure from the tenure of his predecessor, Sylvester Turner, whose administration extended the aforementioned $500,000 lifeline to BCycle.

Llamas said it’s “really unfortunate” that Houston will soon be the largest U.S. city without a bike-share network. About 80 stations are expected to remain open through the end of June, after which city-owned BCycle equipment will be retired and sold.

“I think we’ve demonstrated that Houston has an appetite for bike sharing and that it can be successful even in a relatively low-density, auto-oriented city,” Llamas said. “We hope a solution can be found so that some form of bike sharing can continue.”