Hamilton Bike Share (previously known as Social Bicycles Hamilton or SoBi Hamilton) is a bicycle sharing system located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It consists of 825 bicycles at 129 hubs located in the Downtown, Westdale, Ainslie Wood and Dundas areas of the city.
| Hamilton Bike Share | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Owner | City of Hamilton |
| Locale | Hamilton, Ontario |
| Transit type | Bicycle sharing system |
| Number of stations | 143 (as of April 2023) |
| Website | hamilton |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | March 1, 2015 |
| Operator(s) | Hamilton Bike Share Inc. |
| Number of vehicles | 825 |
The system has been operated by Hamilton Bike Share Inc, a local non-profit corporation, using equipment developed by New York–based Social Bicycles Inc.[1]
The system closed down temporarily on June 1, 2020, after system operator Jump (later acquired by Uber) broke their contract with the City of Hamilton but subsequently resumed operations later that months after Hamilton Bike Share Inc. received $400,000 in community donations.[2][3][4]
History
editIn December 2013, the City of Hamilton approved the implementation of a bicycle share system, with start-up costs covered by a $1.6 million grant from Metrolinx.[5] The system officially launched on March 20, 2015, though a limited system of 200 bicycles had already been operating since January 2015.[6]
An expansion completed in late 2017, "Everyone Rides Initiative", added 12 more hubs, 75 more bikes, and a new system of discounted memberships for low-income residents.[7] In June 2019, the firm added a tricycle to its fleet.[8]
In 2020, Uber backed out of their contract with the City of Hamilton, despite being under contract through February 2021.[9] On May 28, after 14 hours in session, Hamilton City Council decided to store all the bikes and equipment instead of funding the system's continued operation.[10] The service was temporarily halted on June 1, 2020, until the project's initial operator, Hamilton Bike Share Inc., stepped in with funding from community and corporate donors.[3][11] It resumed operation in late June.[4][12]
On July 16, 2021, Cogeco announced a three-year sponsorship with Hamilton Bike Share.[13] Stickers with the company logo was later added to bikes across the system.
In July 2021, the Portland Bureau of Transportation donated 600 surplus Biketown bikes to City of Hamilton as Portland was transitioning the system into using electric pedal-assist bikes.[14] [15] The bikes shared proprietary parts and technologies as the existing Hamilton Bike Share fleet, making it possible to reintegrate the bikes in a separate system and avoiding having to discard the bikes that are still in usable conditions.[15] Their orange paint scheme was preserved and were deployed to the system in February 2023 along with old blue or white bikes.[16]
References
edit- ^ "SoBi Hamilton". Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
- ^ Craggs, Samantha (May 28, 2020). "Hamilton council votes not to fund bike share program, will store the bikes instead". CBC News. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
- ^ a b "SoBi bikes expected back on the road by next week after council backs plan to rescue program". The Hamilton Spectator. 2020-06-03. ISSN 1189-9417. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
- ^ a b "SoBi resurrected: Hamilton's bike share network is back on the road". The Hamilton Spectator. 2020-06-30. ISSN 1189-9417. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
- ^ Craggs, Samantha (December 2, 2013). "Hamilton spending $1.6M on new bike share program". CBC News. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
- ^ Carter, Adam (January 16, 2015). "Hamilton bike share rolls out first bikes Friday". CBC News. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
- ^ "'Everyone Rides Initiative' adds 12 new SoBi bike hubs in Hamilton". CHCH-DT. July 27, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
- ^ Taekema, Dan (June 22, 2019). "'I'm a cyclist': SoBi adds trike to help people enjoy the freedom of biking". CBC News. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- ^ Craggs, Samantha (May 21, 2020). "'SoBi users want the program to continue in Hamilton, no matter who runs it'". CBC News. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
- ^ Craggs, Samantha (May 28, 2020). "Hamilton council votes not to fund bike share program, will store the bikes instead". CBC News. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
- ^ Craggs, Samantha (May 28, 2020). "Hamilton council votes not to fund bike share program, will store the bikes instead". CBC News. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
- ^ Craggs, Samantha (June 30, 2020). "Hamilton's bike share program is back on the streets". CBC News. Retrieved Apr 16, 2023.
- ^ "Hamilton Bike Share scores new sponsor, new wheels — and new hope of city funding?". The Hamilton Spectator. 2021-07-16. ISSN 1189-9417. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
- ^ "PBOT News Release: PBOT to donate original BIKETOWN bikes to Bend, Ore. and Hamilton, Ontario, expanding access to biking and reducing the carbon footprint of bike-sharing in Portland | Portland.gov". www.portland.gov. 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
- ^ a b Rankin, Christine (July 16, 2021). "Portland will donate 600 used bicycles to Hamilton's bike share program". CBC News. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
- ^ Hamilton Bike Share [@HamOntBikeShare] (February 24, 2023). "You may start noticing a pop of orange in the fleet!🟠🟠🟠 This past year we've received compatible bikes donated from our #BikeShare friends at the City of Portland, Oregon as part of an innovative reuse project. 1/ https://t.co/1gBjjaP2jr" (Tweet). Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via Twitter.