DEPARTMENT: Center City Development and Operations
DEPARTMENT HEAD: John Jacks
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City-wide
SUBJECT:
A briefing on the findings and recommendations of the Bike Share Working Group
SUMMARY:
City staff created a Bike Share Working Group (the “Working Group”) in January 2020 to develop recommendations regarding the future of a bike share program in San Antonio. The creation of the Working Group grew from a request for funding and assistance by San Antonio Bike Share, the entity the City contracts with to provide bike share services. The Working Group has worked to understand the budget and operations of San Antonio Bike Share, looked at case studies of comparable cities, and discussed the state of bike share nationally. This briefing will provide an overview of the Working Group’s report and recommendations.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City maintains a contract for the continuous operation and maintenance of the bike share program with San Antonio Bike Share, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. As approved by Council, the agreement is renewed administratively on an annual basis. The City does not contribute any funding towards the organization’s operations.
San Antonio Bike Share has an agreement with BCycle, a national bike share operator affiliated with Trek. Locally, they operate 65 bike share stations and roughly 550 bikes, including 189 pedal assist e-bikes that were recently added to their vehicle fleet. The City owns all of the related equipment (docks, bikes, and stations), which have been purchased with funding from state and federal grants.
On October 4, 2019, San Antonio Bike Share informed CCDO of the early cancellation of its title sponsorship agreement with Southwest General Hospital. The termination of the agreement was effective on December 31, 2019. This loss of a title sponsor has created a significant funding issue within San Antonio Bike Share’s operating budget. In addition, San Antonio Bike Share faces other challenges related to decreasing membership and ridership. Trips decreased 11% in 2018 and an additional 28% in 2019. Memberships remain a significant component of San Antonio Bike Share’s funding model, and are down significantly in recent years, with a 5% reduction in 2017, 5% in 2018, and 20% in 2019. The entity has requested monetary support from the City to help support its continued operations.
The City created the Bike Share Working Group to study the amount of financial support that would be required to support San Antonio Bike Share, to evaluate any strategies that San Antonio Bike Share proposes that may mitigate financial losses or improve services, and to understand the use and value of the bike share system. The Working Group is comprised of City’ leadership, micro-mobility advocates, key stakeholders, and engaged representatives of the business community. The Working Group possesses varied skillsets and competencies, allowing it to evaluate the organization’s balance sheet, marketing efforts, organizational health, and its overall effectiveness in delivering services to the community. The Working Group’s ‘charge’ was to take an open look at San Antonio Bike Share and to make any recommendations they believe to be prudent to allow for the continued and sustainable operation of bike share within our community.
The members of the Bike Share Working Group are listed below:
- Larry Graf, DRG Architects; Chair, U.S. Green Buildings Council (South Texas Region); Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee Member
- Steve Young, Innovation Director, VIA
- David Heard, CEO, Tech Bloc; Chief Marketing Officer, SecureLogix
- Corrina Green, Director of Major Capital Projects & Real Estate, UTSA; Member, National Placemaking Council, ULI
- Angelica Palm, Marketing Director, The Bank of San Antonio
- Art Reinhardt, Interim Deputy Director, TCI
- Brian Dillard, Director, Innovation
- Veronica Carrillo, Assistant Director, CCDO
- Homer Garcia, Director, Parks and Recreation Department
- Timothy Hayes, Pedestrian Mobility Officer, TCI
ISSUE:
San Antonio Bike Share has projected a significant budget shortfall within their current fiscal year and has requested assistance from the City. The Working Group has evaluated the request and developed recommendations for how the City should address the future of bike share in San Antonio. The City strongly values bike share and believes the Working Group’s recommendations will allow for the continued operation of a bike share network.
This briefing will provide the Transportation & Mobility Committee with an overview of the Working Group’s recommendations and an opportunity for the Council Committee to provide feedback on the next steps for bike share.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff will present a briefing on this item subject to possible action by the committee.