bike-share

For just $20 a year anyone can check out one of 40 or so bikes for two days at a time (or more, with permission).

Nick Bohnenkamp has headed the nonprofit for almost nine years, most of its life. He'll stay around for three or four more months while B-Cycle searches for a replacement.

As its equipment nears the end of its useful life, Denver's bike-share operator wants to get with the times.

One company, ofo, will operate the service, which will be limited to DU students and faculty.

Streetsblog published a story on Wednesday — "Aurora’s Dockless Bike-Share Quickly Attracts More Riders Than Denver B-cycle" — based on erroneous information, and we are retracting the post. The premise of the post was that the three companies comprising Aurora's new dockless bike-share system — Spin, LimeBike, and ofo — are already out-performing Denver B-cycle. That's not the case.

While B-cycle requires stationary docks to operate -- and lots of docks close together to operate really well — UrBike is "dockless." Riders will have the flexibility to go more places, because they don't require fixed stations. A GPS-based lock, controlled by a smart phone app, will let riders pick up bikes and drop off them off almost anywhere, in theory.

The number of B-Cycle trips fell for the third straight year in 2016.

When you compare the way people use Denver B-Cycle to the way people use top bike-share systems across the world, it’s clear that our system comes up short. People just don’t ride it that much. What’s holding B-Cycle back from being a great bike-share system? Like other transit systems, bike-share systems are measured according to how intensely people use them. A … Continued

For now, at least, Denver B-Cycle charges more than any bike-share system in the country for a half-hour rental: $7. The new rate, which applies only to people without memberships, is in a two-month test period. It’s part of a larger change to B-Cycle’s fare structure that Executive Director Nick Bohnenkamp says is meant to … Continued