Indego Bike Share is one year old, and on Thursday, April 20, the city held a party to celebrate. That party, held at the Race Street Pier, was attended by Mayor Jim Kenney; Deputy Mayor Clarena Tolson; Yvette Bright, Independence Blue Cross Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Janet Haas, Board Chair of the William Penn Foundation; and several others involved in Indego Bike Share.
While there, the city announced Indego bike sharing would be receiving 300 new bikes, 24 new stations, and expanded access to low-income residents.
.@PhillyMayor “This expansion is going in every neighborhood … No matter the zip code.” @RideIndego #bikephl pic.twitter.com/DI2eAXOge0
— Bike Coalition Phila (@bcgp) April 21, 2016
“A world class city deserves world class transportation.” – @IBX #bikephl @RideIndego pic.twitter.com/QcKfJ2Zydh
— Bike Coalition Phila (@bcgp) April 21, 2016
Today @RideIndego becomes #accessible to those who have ACCESS cards at the cost of $5 per month! Philly #bikeshare is for everyone.
— IBX – Blue Cross (@IBX) April 21, 2016
The Mayor’s remarks highlighted the William Penn Foundation’s $1.5 million contribution toward Indego expansion, with 24 new stations focused on connecting neighborhoods with the City’s parks and waterfront public spaces.
The new stations also support greater access and connection to grocery stores, libraries, and employment opportunities. According to a press release from the mayor’s office of communications,
Stations will be installed during the last week of April and in early May, with 300 new bikes to roll out concurrently. “This expansion allows neighborhoods to better connect with opportunities and high-quality destinations across the city,” said Dr. Janet Haas, Board Chair of the William Penn Foundation.
Indego is sponsored by Independence Blue Cross. Yvette Bright, Independence Blue Cross Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer noted, “A world-class city deserves world-class transportation. There is no better way to discover Philadelphia’s remarkable and diverse array of arts, culture, food, and sports than from the seat of an Indego bike. At Independence, we are proud to celebrate the one-year milestone of Indego, and reaffirm our commitment to helping people get fit and have fun.”
In addition to the expansion locations (list below), Mayor Kenney announced a discount for Pennsylvania ACCESS card holders, who can now pay $5 for 30 days of unlimited 1 hour trips with an Indego Access Pass. For more information, visit www.rideindego.com/access. The Mayor reiterated that goal is to make Indego accessible to as many Philadelphians as possible. In fact, Indego was the first bike share program in North America to launch with a cash payment option.
Also announced was the release of a new Indego smartphone app, available on iOS and Android for locating stations and bikes. The app features an integrated text feature that allows riders to interact directly with Indego customer service, to help make it as easy as possible to use the program for transportation, fitness, or recreation.
And according to a PlanPhilly report on the event, Indego’s ridership has been second to none:
In addition to the new locations and new payment program, OTIS officials also unveiled Indego’s latest model of bike. The Indego 2.0 is ten pounds lighter, slimming down to 35 lbs. The new bikes were able to shed that weight in part by removing the rear wheel basket. To compensate, the front handlebar basket is larger.
Ridership on the system has grown faster here than elsewhere. In its first year*, Indego saw 502,000 rides. Around 10 percent of those were round trips, where the rider picked up and dropped off her bike at the same station. Mean trip times were 26.27 minutes but median trips lasted just 13 minutes, suggesting there were some very long (and more expensive) trips among a larger pool of shorter rides. The system averaged 1461 trips per day, or about 20 per station.
The Bicycle Coalition is excited to see Indego’s growth and its usage by a large share of Philadelphians (and many more as access is expanded.) We will update our readers with more information next week on the Coalition’s role for growth, and the Better Bike Share Partnership.