Vancouver’s Mobi bike share program hit a significant milestone this week after passing the 100,000 rides mark.
Comparable cities with similar or larger-sized bike share systems have passed 100,000 rides in anywhere from two to nine months; Vancouver's program reached that milestone in just three months. A “ride” is defined as taking a bike from one station and returning it to another station.
"In just three months we hit our 100,000 rides milestone proving that Mobi has quickly become a popular transportation choice for Vancouverites," says Mayor Gregor Robertson. "With 50 per cent of trips in Vancouver made by walking, cycling and transit, Mobi is being used just as we expected - for short, one-way trips that make our active transportation network more convenient and fun."
The top five most popular Mobi stations are: Granville and Georgia; Hornby and Nelson; Hornby and Pender; Bute and Robson; Ontario and the False Creek Seawall. These are all locations that are near transit connections or active transportation routes.
Due to the popularity of the program, Vancouver Bike Share has also made one-year passes available for purchase, just in time for Bike to Work Week. “We are excited to introduce one-year memberships to our mix of options for riding Mobi,” says Mia Kohout, General Manager, Vancouver Bike Share. “Mobi is a year-round service, so it only makes sense to have annual membership options so people have the flexibility to ride whenever they want, any day of the year.”
There are two one-year membership options available:
- a standard membership for $129 per year includes unlimited 30-minute rides
- a “plus” membership costs $159 and includes unlimited 60-minute rides.
Monthly and day passes also remain available. One-year “founding memberships” were initially sold as part of the pre-launch promotions for the new bike share system. There are currently more than 3,600 annual members.
The City of Vancouver and Vancouver Bike Share launched the Mobi bike share system to one-year membership purchasers only on July 20, and then opened up the system to the general public on August 18. There are now more than 800 bikes available at 80 stations, with more stations and bikes being installed every week. The geographic service area includes the Downtown Peninsula, bounded by Arbutus Street, 16th Avenue and Main Street.
Users can find a map with live stations and number of bikes and open docks available at each station, plus more pricing details, on the Mobi web site at mobibikes.ca.
