“I would like to see somebody go into Englewood and convince some Black person in that community that they should be riding their bike as a commuter to go to work. They live on the North Side and they live downtown. “Well, who are the commuters that are willing to ride their bike in Chicago? They’re largely white, middle to upper income. The European model for bike share is a model of bikes as a form of transportation targeting commuters,” Reed said.

“Bike sharing in this country follows a European model. The strategy was also a misfit for the logistics and culture of the South Side, according to Oboi Reed, president and CEO of Equiticity in Chicago. This transit-focused approach, while ideal for downtown and the city’s North Side, is problematic for the South Side, which is less densely populated and has fewer transit stations. However, many stations are still located in or near transit stops. Since then, the Divvy system has undergone two expansions and now covers a service area of more than 100 square miles, making it the largest bike share system in North America. When Divvy launched in 2013, its original 300 stations were concentrated in and around Chicago Transit Authority rail stations - a system that has historically underserved the city’s Black communities. In 2019, Divvy launched a Bike Mechanic Boot camp to train young people in Chicago to perform bike repairs, and enable them to apply for positions with Divvy. Lyft also awarded 15 grants totaling $100,000 to community groups to increase bike share use in low- to moderate-income communities. Lyft also plans to make an additional $77 million in investments for new bike lanes on the South and West sides of the city over the upcoming nine years. Lyft is making a $50 million investment in bicycles, stations and related hardware for the expansion. The expansion is being executed in collaboration with rideshare provider Lyft, which sponsors and operates the Divvy system. There will also be 66 new stations, bringing the total to 800. When the expansion is complete, there will be 16,500 bicycles, including e-bicycles, which have built-in cable locks. The expansion area represents the first phase of a program designed to locate Divvy stations in every Chicago neighborhood by 2021. We applaud local activists and city leaders for making this expansion possible.” “For too long, Far South Side residents have been cut off from the rest of the city with limited transit and bike access. “Paired with reduced pricing, this is an exciting step towards making Divvy a transportation option for all Chicagoans,” said Amy Rynell, executive director of the Active Transportation Alliance, in a July 16 press release. Transit advocates praise the expansion, stating that it has the potential to bring transformative change to a part of the city that has been traditionally underserved and disinvested. That is beginning to change with the expansion of Divvy bike share stations by almost 60 square miles, into areas of the city that previously featured few or none. However, for residents of Chicago’s Far South Side, bike infrastructure, including bike share, has been scarce.

The expansion aims to make cycling more accessible in a traditionally underserved and disinvested neighborhood.īiking has surged across the country as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage.

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