BCycle Increases Ridership with E-Assist Bikes

BCycle is finding success in bringing new technology to its established dock-based bikeshare systems.

Last fall, BCycle piloted electric assist bicycles in several of its cities in operation. The pilot found increases in ridership from double to almost 5 times the number of trips after the introduction of e-bikes. 

Madison BCycle Electric Bike transition event on June 18th. L to R: BCycle Executive Director Morgan Ramaker; Madison WI Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway; and Trek Bicycle Corporation President John Burke

Building on the success of the pilot, this summer the Madison BCycle system was completely transitioned to an all-electric fleet. It was the first complete transition for a dock-based system from traditional pedal bikes to e-assist bikes. Since that transition, ridership has more than doubled.

“At BCycle we believe that bikeshare is the bike’s place in public transit,” said Morgan Ramaker, Executive Director at BCycle LLC. “We are committed to continually improving the user experience to encourage more people to ride bikes more often.”

In addition to Madison, BCycle e-bikes have been rolled out in Broward County, Cincinnati, El Paso, Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Omaha, Philadelphia, and San Antonio.

BCycle operates in 43 cities throughout the US and is owned by Trek Bicycle Corporation, a family- and employee-owned business with over 40 years of experience driving innovation in the bicycle industry.