Houston BCycle bike-share program scheduled for closure
HOUSTON - A plan is in place to pull the plug on Houston's popular BCycle bike-share program, because the money to run it has just about run out.
The problem was not completely unexpected. In May, BCycle had to raise rental rates, from $3 to $5 for 30 minutes, and reduce the number of stations, to deal with a cash crunch. Several months later, it was not enough.
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"What it would take to make this program sustainable, is $7,500, per station, per year," says James Llamas, who's on the board of Houston Bike Share, which is the non-profit that runs the BCycle program for the city of Houston.
Doing the math, the organization needs to count on about $1 million, annually, to keep the bikes rolling. Llamas co-authored a weekend Op-Ed that warns there's a plan to shutter the program in the coming months, because there's not enough money to pay all the bills.
For users, it's a disappointing loss of opportunity.
"I feel like it would be a disservice," says Andrew Bonham, who was riding a BCycle through Hermann Park, "It's just as effective as the Metro." Ajee' Demmints agreed, "I don't own a bike, myself, so having this option available has been nice."
Started in 2012, with a small selection of bikes and stations, BCycle has grown dramatically. Now, it has 150 available stations across the city, in both popular, well-traveled areas, as well as underserved communities, to help people get around.
Despite a ridership averaging about 250,000 rides a year, rental fees only cover about 60% of operating costs, while grants and dwindling sponsorships struggle to make up the rest. In other cities, sponsorships are a huge part of bike-share survival.
"We retained one of the top sports marketing companies, that landed some of those deals, (and) they were unable to achieve that, for us, here in Houston," says Llamas.
While the search for funding continues, the bikes will likely be put into storage. They could be returned to the road if, or when, the money is found.