Bike sharing is catching on fast, with Bluebikes in particular providing affordable and convenient access to alternative transportation throughout the region.

By Alex Reidy

The first ever regional bike share meeting for Bluebikes on Tuesday, April 13, began with introductions from people involved in seven surrounding municipalities, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Somerville, and Watertown.

The virtual meeting featured Somerville Director of Mobility, Brad Rawson, and Somerville Project Manager for Transportation, Justin Schreiber, who provided a quick overview of public bike shares that include 10 municipalities and around 400 stations in use right now.

A public bike share is transportation that is owned by the public and has a sustainable business model, with a focus on removing barriers between residents and visitors, and is responsive to community needs.

It is supported primarily by Blue Cross Blue Shield as title sponsor. Each municipality has its own contract with Lyft, which has its own specific requirements that holds municipalities responsible. Bluebikes is a dock-based system, with all trips starting and ending at a station, and the user being responsible for the bike.

Annual passes increased from $99 to $109. 30-day passes are now only $25, with $2.95 for a single trip. Discount programs for low-income individuals will not change this year, remaining $50 per year or $5 dollars a month. Free 90-day passes are being offered to employees of local retail stores. Boston offers a $5 annual pass to people experiencing homelessness or living in transitional housing.

Bike share trips have grown tremendously since they started in 2011, with new municipalities joining in every year. Shared rides have increased annually, except in 2020 where ridership decreased after experiencing record ridership in the beginning. Areas that saw decrease in usage was in the larger cities where people were leaving their houses less often. Areas that saw increased ridership involved round-trip rides.

56 stations that were retired for the winter are returning to usage on May 1. Salem is in contract negotiations to become a Bluebikes municipality. New launches include Hyde Park in Boston, three new stations in Everett including the Wellington MBTA Station, and two along the GLX in East Somerville and Gilman Square. One is set to serve the new high school, and one to serve the station in Assembly Square.

Events this year include 30 days of biking in April, a challenge to bike every day of the month. May is Bike Month, adding in some cute Unicorn Bikes. June will celebrate Pride Month, making donations when you ride pride bikes to certain organizations that support the LGBTQ community. July is the 10th anniversary of Bluebikes.

Access to E-bikes is tentatively in the works. It all depends on the Massachusetts law that classifies what an E-bike is, plus Bluebikes needs to consider if it is equitable and economical. Dockless bikes are not in the picture as of right now.