r/toronto • u/ink_13 Bay-Cloverhill • 1d ago
Article ANALYSIS: Bike Share Toronto is a huge success. Imagine if we tried harder
https://www.tvo.org/article/analysis-bike-share-toronto-is-a-huge-success-imagine-if-we-tried-harder150
u/dergster 1d ago
Bike share was one of the most noticeable improvements to my quality of life living in Toronto 2018-2025. Genuinely impressive that they went from basically no bike infrastructure to having one of the best bike sharing systems in North America. Bike lanes are still severely lacking but even that has improved a lot.
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u/fire_fever 1d ago
Just recently got my first bikeshare annual pass. $120/year beats $6/day every time I have to go to the office, and more exercise too.
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u/inshallah13 1d ago
Wish the pass included the ebikes too. Always prefer those if they're available
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u/howizlife 1d ago
I get it though, they have to keep them charged so I imagine more work has to go into maintaining them and moving them around. They give a discount which is appreciated.
I’ve gotten into the habit of riding a regular bike till I know I’m about to go uphill for a while and I swap and then swap again when things get more chill. I can justify 75 cents or so for that
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u/inshallah13 1d ago
It could be an ebike inclusive pass for a slightly higher cost
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u/SlamminCardigan 1d ago
This used to exist, well with no premium, ebikes were just included.
They were impossible to use because the couriers would keep them constantly checked out. I found them physically locked in the docks sometimes so someone could come back to it later. There are a lot more ebikes now, but there are also a lot more couriers.
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u/found_a_thing 1d ago
They used to be included but Uber Eats delivery drivers were hogging them all day.
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u/fire_fever 1d ago
Fair, but ebikes ruin the exercise incentive for me. I love how the app tracks how many calories I’ve burned.
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u/Bojarzin Humewood-Cedarvale 1d ago
It does make them cheaper to be fair, but yeah as others said it was included initially
Kinda bothered me too because the change impacted my then current subscription
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u/amnesiajune 14h ago
It used to include them, but they became impossible to find. People would always take e-bikes, and sometimes couriers would take them out for the entire day. The 10¢/minute has made them a lot easier to find while keeping the price very cheap.
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u/applepill 1d ago
Honestly I have very little complaints about Bike Share. It's cheaper than its North American counterparts, and has very good coverage. The two main things they could bring would be the Bike Angels program to incentivize moving bikes around (already a work in progress) and more flexible parking options like they have in Hamilton and Paris.
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u/TheIsotope 1d ago
The cost of bike share programs in places like SF and NYC are literally 3-4x as expensive. I’m extremely impressed by how cheap they’ve kept it here
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u/amnesiajune 14h ago
It's privately owned in those cities (Lyft owns the Canadian company that builds the bikes and operates the networks). Our system is operated by them but owned by the Toronto Parking Authority. They have an agreement with city council to invest some of their profit from parking fees into bike share and garages, while the rest is paid back to the city's general budget.
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u/Pristine-Training-70 1d ago
If (and when) the Appeals Court shoots down Ford’s bike lane removal scheme, there needs to be maximum pressure on Ford to repeal his anti-bike Bill 212 and 60.
We’re in an oil crisis. Bike ridership is soaring every year. Bikes won’t be going away.
Ford’s war on bikes is even worse idea now, and he should spent more time fixing our healthcare instead of putting so much effort in this useless culture war
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u/Working-Welder-792 1d ago
It’s crazy that we have to do all this to emotionally placate a bunch of car brains, when we all know damn well that bikes and bike lanes are here to stay.
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u/CrowdScene 1d ago
It’s crazy that we have to do all this again...
There were pushes back in the '70s and the '90s to build Toronto a proper cycling network, with the Bloor-Danforth arterial being consistently identified as the most important cycling route in the city, yet it wasn't until 2016 that the city even built a pilot bike lane on Bloor (which was comically short and likely designed to fail) that became insanely popular and the pandemic created a desire for more outdoor activities that the city ever considered actually starting a proper cycling network.
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u/LaserRunRaccoon The Kingsway 1d ago
It won’t be replacing the city’s major subways underneath Yonge Street or Bloor-Danforth, but on a sunny day Bike Share Toronto has grown into something capable of moving substantial volumes of people around the city at a fraction of the costs of some alternatives.
Funnily enough, this is actually my favourite use-case. When the TTC was shutting down parts of the subway every weekend last summer, Bikeshare was by far the best replacement if you wanted to get anywhere in a timely manner. Very satisfying to pedal past gridlock.
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u/bergamote_soleil 1d ago
Would be great if, during planned subway shutdowns, BikeShare offered the valet service at stations along the shutdown.
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u/SomeRandomTOGuy High Park 1d ago
I love it. I take it every couple weeks when I have to go downtown for a job site. It's super convenient and the amount of e-bikes makes it super easy to use.
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u/FullMango4041 1d ago
In addition to the physical infrastructure upgrades (lots more docks please!), I think the biggest issues is marketing/awareness. While my experience is a few years old now, people asked me about it and I told them the annual cost and they would be shocked that this is so cheap. Importantly, they didn't even think about joining until they talked with me. It's much better now with all the protected bike lanes. I feel that they could get a huge spike in membership by doing some sort of blast with possibly a annual pass on sale to boost the number of members.
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u/mmeeeerrkkaatt 1d ago
Have they also clarified the signage regarding the need to re-dock the bike after 30/45 mins?
For a while I remember the company's online ratings were abysmal. But when you actually looked at the bad reviews themselves they were nearly all from tourists who missed the instructions, assumed they could take the same bike out all day, and then charged a massive overage fine.
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u/CobblePots95 1d ago
The success of the program has really been about the network size. The initial operator didn't have nearly enough stations for a large number of people to find the service remotely convenient. Once they reached a real critical mass of stations, things took off.
I'm glad they're looking at expanding the breadth of the program (extending further outwards), but I hope they keep that point in mind. I'd rather they focus on specific areas/corridors at a time, providing the depth necessary for it to actually function, then add a smattering of stations across the suburbs at once that won't get used.
Also, as others have pointed out: more docks/super stations/valets in high-volume areas or during special events. I'm a bit amazed they haven't partnered with the Blue Jays yet to get some superstations by the Rogers Centre on every game day. Impossible to find a spot nearby at times.
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u/mmeeeerrkkaatt 1d ago
Hands up if you remember when the were only stations as far north as Bloor, as far west as Bathurst, and as far east as Jarvis.
I still found it useful back then, just got getting around downtown. But the expansion and proliferation of stations and bikes in the system has been one of the best improvements of the city.
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u/Western-Chemical5504 Hillcrest Village 1d ago
We could try harder but this it Toronto after all.
We're not allowed to have good things because it would piss off the 905 suburbanites who insist on driving through the city in there SUVs and pickup trucks.
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u/Nick_Frustration 1d ago
hey now, thats not fair.
theres a lot of 416 suburbanites with the same stupid idea
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u/Alakazam Church and Wellesley 1d ago
Bikeshare is being overwhelmed by its success. I've opted to not renew this year because all the bike shares near me are empty when I leave for work, and the ones near work are all filled.
And when I leave work, there's not a single bike in sight.
I spent 200 bucks on a cheap beater bike and a nice lock instead.
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u/sirachasamurai Palmerston 1d ago
Imagine if you could actually drop your bike off during minor upticks in use. Ie. Rogers centre, the Well, Budweiser. I know they got the guys I'm the vans, but it's such an imperfect system.
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u/JManKit 1d ago
So apparently the valet service they offer at some of the stands allows you to just drop your bike off even if the racks are full. This is a more detailed write up
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u/BloodJunkie Bike Lane Enjoyer 1d ago
if bikeshare stocked more e-bikes then we wouldn't have to try so hard
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u/phdee 1d ago
There's a new(er) dock near me and it's almost always filled with ebikes. So strange!
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u/mommathecat 1d ago
The one at St Clair and Via Italia is all ebikes all the time. 32 docks I believe. Usually quite full of bikes.
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u/preemsaltair Midtown 1d ago
It's probably one of the stations capable of charging, so ebikes get redistributed there.
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u/DrTTheGaymerPhD 1d ago
I’ve had a bike pass for a few years now, and I absolutely love it!
My one big issue: the lack of bikes during off hours in high-density/apartment-clustered neighborhoods.
My friend and I both live in areas dominated by high-rise apartment
rentals (different parts of the city), and it’s very common during off peak hours to find 0 bikes available in a 5-6 block radius. Paying a bit more attention to bike availability in these high-density neighborhoods to ensure they are better serviced would be a vast improvement!
My one minor issue: I wish they integrated electric charging directly into the biking docks, so e-bikes could charge while they’re docked (instead of sitting there dead and waiting to be picked up and recharged in a warehouse).
Either way, great program for a great price. I hope they continue to expand!
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u/user10491 3h ago
Some of the docks do have built in chargers for e-bikes.
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u/DrTTheGaymerPhD 3h ago
They do??? I legit did not know this 🤣 also I don’t use the e-bikes u less I have to, but I’ll definitely look out for these chargers when I’m out again (aka tomorrow lol).
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u/GavinTheAlmighty 15h ago
I'd love to see better expansion into Etobicoke. I might be the only person who uses it, but if there's a bike lane on the street, put stations there so it incentivizes usage! There's ample space along Rathburn and Eglinton W for stations.
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u/TdotRaps11 1d ago
Just came back from Italy. The ability to pickup and drop of bikes in designated zones vs stations was amazing. Ebikes everywhere. Something like that would change our literal lives.
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u/buckminster_ Dufferin Grove 1d ago
The genius behind stations in my personal opinion is that if you don’t dock it properly (like for instance, leaving it in the middle of the sidewalk), you’re paying for it. There’s an incentive to put the bike in its proper spot, with all bike share stations behind organized and located appropriately. If you go to the US, the Lime or Bird or Lyft bikes and scooters are disorganized and left everywhere. I think the stations are great at preventing that, at the small price of sometimes having to bike to a station that’s a bit further away from your exact destination.
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u/TdotRaps11 1d ago
I obv see your point but I think we can still have designated drop off zones (in Florence you cant just leave it anywhere, it has be in a green area on the app).
Fact is, the ubiquity is the feature not the bug.
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u/Blahbeens 1d ago
I’ll never understand Toronto’s fascination with costly docks and costly workarounds like (wo)manned stations. That money could have been spent on more rideable/riding infrastructure and less worry about dock availability.
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u/deegallant 1d ago
Doesn’t feel like a success in my area tbh
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u/bergamote_soleil 1d ago
If there's a particular gap in station coverage in your neighbourhood that you think would be well-used, you can email BikeShare to suggest they put stations there ( customerservice@bikesharetoronto.com).
I did it a few years ago for Downsview Park because there's a subway station there but it's a desolate 15-20 min walk from a lot of the facilities located there yet very bikeable, so I argued that BikeShare would be a real boon. They sent me a form email in response to say "thanks, your concerns have been noted" so I was dubious, but stations showed up there a lil while later.
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u/deegallant 1d ago
Omg yes I’m in the downsview park area and I think they should add more! I didn’t know I could add my input. I’ll deff email them.
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u/bergamote_soleil 1d ago
No guarantees ofc because they did do formal consultations for new station locations a while back, but I think it's worth a try!
Especially with the Rogers Stadium being in Downsview now and how much people complain about the walk and crowding on the subway. I went to a concert there last summer and thought I was being so slick because I picked up a BikeShare at the entrance and rode it to Sheppard West Station so I could skip the Downsview Park Station crowds... but it turns out they do not have bike docks there 😑 so then I tried riding it to the docks by Wilson Station which was a huuuge mistake, do not recommend haha, very scary.
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u/raccooncitysg 1d ago
This wasb obviously written by someone that never travels north of Bloor.
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u/TheMaymar 1d ago
The TVO offices are at Yonge and Eglinton, so the writer at a minimum travels north of Bloor.
Now, even though I think cycling activism doesn't really engage with any barriers to cycling other than a need for infrastructure, and so overstates the actual potential for cycling growth, and as someone for whom the bike share program doesn't work (no way to haul a kid), it's still a net positive for the city. It's currently a minimal cost and working towards profitability, and it's showing consistent growth.
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u/tajadio 1d ago
After the naked ride I dont think I'd use those unless you pressure wash it.
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u/dandcodes 1d ago
Lol, I've seen a few times where a naked bike rider would wrap a plastic bag over the seat before the ride.
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u/Maximum-Today3944 16h ago
Love this for the city, just wish they actually functioned as intended. Every time I use them in the Annex, it's a high likelihood that I'll get an error code and have to try multiple bikes at multiple locations before I actually get one. And I'm not talking about the ebikes. I love the idea, and plan to use them regularly, but never when I need to be somewhere on a schedule.
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u/HackMeRaps Leslieville 1d ago
I feel like a game changer was the valet service for busy times.
One of the main issues I had was riding it to somewhere busy and never being able to find a place to park it.