Changes may be in store for the third year of the city’s bike-share program as stakeholders look for ways to build usage.
ColumBIKE was launched by the Columbus Park Foundation in May 2016 with eight-bike rental stations and nearly 80 bicycles available for the public to rent.
Riders completed 2,967 trips the first year of the program, which ran from May to December. But that number dipped to 2,634 rides for 12 months full of 2017, said Kyle Roach, program lead financial analyst with ColumBIKE.
In addition, the number of annual $80 memberships that were purchased dropped to 40 last year from the 79 that were purchased during the inaugural year, Roach said.
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To reverse ridership trends, executive director Dick Boyce said ColumBIKE officials are looking at reducing the cost of an annual membership and increasing the amount of time riders can be out on the bikes. Currently, individuals can check out a bike for $3 an hour, but Boyce said a two-hour charge of $5 is being evaluated.
“What we’ve heard is people saying, ‘Hey, I want to use the bike for more than an hour,” Boyce said.
Before settling on changes for this year, ColumBIKE officials will complete conversations with representatives from eight other cities with similar-sized programs.
Columbus has been in touch with Augusta and Savannah, Georgia; Battle Creek, Michigan; Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina; McAllen, Texas; Rapid City, South Dakota; and Spokane, Washington. They were selected as peer bike-share programs since they all have 10 kiosks or less, Boyce said.
One trend is already apparent, however.
“If you would look at annual pricing in those cities, it’s lower than what we have here,” Boyce said.
For example, an annual membership in Battle Creek, Michigan, costs $20 for students and $30 for adults, while the cost is $65 per year in McAllen, Texas. Those prices reflect the low and high membership costs of all eight cities. That makes ColumBIKE’s $80 annual fee higher than all the rest.
But there’s more to learn from the other cities than just fees.
“We’re looking at what obstacles they have (had) to overcome,” Boyce said. “You want to provide a service that’s fluid and doesn’t have a bunch of kinks.”
Rider interests have been top-of-mind in discussions about ColumBIKE, which launched after the Columbus Park Foundation secured about $200,000 in funding from Cummins, Columbus Regional Health and other donors.
“We’re constantly looking at how we can price the bikes to fill the needs for everybody,” said Chip Orben, president of the Columbus Park Foundation.
Orben also said he would like to see more people purchase annual memberships. Achieving that will involve refining the strategy for the bike-sharing program and listening to people who are using the bikes, he said.
“We need to listen to our customers and make good, educated decisions,” Orben said.
Price-adjustment proposals could go before the Columbus Park Board in May or June. Boyce said any pricing changes that take effect will be posted on ColumBIKE’s website and will be reflected on the kiosks.
“Once we get approval, we can virtually change overnight,” Boyce said.
Most of the city’s bike-share kiosks are in the downtown area, giving thousands of potential users a convenient opportunity to check out a bike, he said. Bike stations are also available at Donner Park and Columbus Regional Hospital.
Additional kiosks in Columbus are being explored, with ColumBIKE hoping to secure sponsorships to help cover the financial costs, which is $17,000 to $20,000 for one kiosk, Boyce said.
If more kiosks are added, they would be placed in new locations such as the east side of Columbus near State Street, Boyce said. However, he said additional kiosks likely would not be in place until late this year or in early 2019.
One obstacle to growing the bike-share program is that many people in the area don’t understand how it works, Boyce said. To change that, Boyce said ColumBIKE plans to expand its social media footprint while reaching out to different community organizations to make presentations about the program.
There are other aspects of ColumBIKE that potential users also may not realize.
For example, the public can download a mobile application for their Android or Apple iPhones that will allow them to see how far they are from a kiosk and what other bike-sharing programs are available across the country.
People who purchase a ColumBIKE annual membership can use it in other cities that have bike-sharing programs, including Los Angeles, Denver and Cincinnati, Boyce said.
“If you have a membership here, you have a membership there,” he said.
Boyce encourages local people to hop on a bike and try out the program.
“It’s really a durable, reliable bike,” he said.
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Here are the pricing options for ColumBIKE:
- Annual pass: $80
- Monthly pass: $20
- Hourly rate: $3
The ColumBIKE office is located at 951 2nd St. Information: 844-742-2453.
To learn more about ColumBIKE, visit columbike.bcycle.com or Facebook.com/columbike/timeline.
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- Donner Center: 739 22nd St.
- Columbus Regional Health: 2400 17th St.
- ColumBUS Depot: 850 Lindsey St.
- Columbus Area Visitors Center: 506 Fifth St.
- Cummins Engine Plant: 500 Central Ave.
- Cummins Technical Center: 1900 McKinley Ave.
- Jackson Street parking garage
- Fourth and Washington streets
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