Chicago Expands e-Bike Sharing System, Lyft Invests

The city of Chicago, Illinois has approved the expansion of its e bike-sharing system – Divvy e-bikes – with plans to add another 10,500 electric-assist bikes and 175 stations by the year 2021. The expansion will bring the total fleet to approximately 16,500 bikes, available in all 50 wards of the city.

In exchange for ridership revenue from the Divvy bike share system, Lyft has agreed to make a $50 million investment in new bikes, stations, and hardware and to give the city an additional $77 million in revenue for transportation improvements over nine years –  representing $127 million in direct benefits to the city.

The growth of the system is expected to create more than 200 jobs, a job-training program for youths and ex-offenders, an expansion of the Divvy for Everyone program for low-income customers, and a pilot adaptive bike-sharing program for people with disabilities.

With the expansion in mind, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Lyft are launching the Divvy community tour to provide residents with Divvy e-bikes demos of the electric pedal-assist and hybrid locking capability features and give them with the opportunity to discuss where Divvy stations and bike racks are needed and how biking can support their communities.

“CDOT is very pleased to be partnering with Lyft to deliver on our commitment to expanding our popular Divvy system to the entire city,” CDOT commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld said in a statement. “The proposed amendment builds on the strong foundation of Divvy today, to ensure we have a growing, modern system with the latest technology, to give Chicagoans and visitors alike an affordable, convenient and high-quality option for getting around.”