A booming year for mobility with a connected future

2022 was a year of renewed connection, as people, communities and cities across borders moulded to a newly shaped normal. A normal that has people seeking connection and face-to-face interaction, whether in professional or personal settings and shared mobility is playing a vital role. Whether it’s bike sharing, scooter sharing, car sharing or para/microtransit, many forms of transportation are helping deliver this connection piece as an increasing number of people are discovering, adopting and using new forms of shared mobility.

At Shift Transit, we continued to work closely with partners and Cities, resulting in record-breaking growth and innovation. The impact that shared mobility has on communities and cities really highlights how important our work is in providing reliable transportation services.

The increased usage of shared mobility had our team busier than ever this past year. From managing a fully electric bike share fleet, through system expansions, to operating the 4th largest bike share system in North America, many of our markets saw big advancements in:

• ridership
• membership
• system expansion 
• accessibility

Doubling down on this growth are future plans to continue propelling micromobility as an integral part of everyday life. Let’s have a closer look at how Shift Transit, hand-in-hand with our partners, delivered more shared mobility options as city transportation landscapes continue to innovate and evolve. 

Micromobility

📍 Toronto, Canada: Bike Share Toronto

Ending the year with over 1 MILLION more rides than in 2021, Bike Share Toronto set a new record of 4.6 MILLION trips. Things really accelerated in Toronto in 2022, with expansion, e-bikes and system electrification to welcoming more riders than ever before to bike share! Bike Share Toronto closed the year with incredible results:

• 4.6M trips – 29% YOY increase
• 178% YOY increase in e-bike trips
• 30% YOY growth in users of the system
• 29% YOY growth in memberships sold

Innovating the customer experience was top of mind to make it even easier and seamless for new and returning users to access bikes. In August 2022, Bike Share launched a new all-in-one mobile website platform. The Bikesharetoronto.com website on mobile now offers all types of pass purchases, bike unlocks and member dashboard access for a levelled up customer experience. Within weeks of launching, we saw a 20% increase in new user transactions from the mobile website portal, with the support of a robust marketing and communications campaign. 

Bike Share Toronto continues to grow in popularity and importance and in September 2022, the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) announced the program’s Four Year Growth Plan. Shift Transit is excited to partner with the TPA as it aims to make Bike Share Toronto the best bikesharing system in the world. Since TPA and Shift partnered together, the system footprint has grown upwards of 225%; growing from 200 stations and 2,000 pedal bikes in April 2017 to 655 stations, 6,675 pedal bikes and 525 pedal assist e-bikes at the close of 2022.

2023 promises to be nothing short of exciting! Be sure to follow along.

📍 Detroit, Michigan: MoGo Detroit Bike Share

The MoGo Detroit Bike Share program had a gainful year, celebrating 5 years of service with new stations added and a booming membership base in an ever-changing ‘Motor City’. A total of 6 stations were installed, growing the system to 78 stations across six Metro Detroit cities, while also introducing the program’s first e-stations. Shift Transit led the installation of 2 hardwired e-stations located at the new Michigan Central Station, and 1 solar-powered e-station in the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood as part of continuing efforts to electrify the entire system. Additionally, 3 bike share stations were installed in Belle Isle Park, the largest City-owned “island” park in the US, making it the first time bike share is offered as a way to explore the beautiful, big state park that spans 982-acres in the heart of Detroit. In the first month of servicing the island, the 3 stations saw immediate ridership.

Pictured: Skyhook solar e-charging station

As the system footprint grew, so did MoGo’s membership base. Spurred by the partnership with Wayne State that launched in 2021, over 1000 memberships were sold, ranking the stations around the campus within the top ten utilized in 2022. Overall, member ridership was up 45% year-over-year. This usage is a true testament to the necessity and success of the partnership, giving students, faculty and staff an accessible and affordable mobility option in Detroit.

Before the year came to a close, a new partnership was established with DivDat, broadening the cash payment option with DivDat’s widely accessible, easy, and real-time payment processing platform, continuing to drive equitable access to bike share in Detroit.

📍 Chattanooga, Tennessee: Bike Chattanooga

Shift Transit has been proudly working with the City of Chattanooga Division of Transportation since 2017 to run the day-to-day operations and management of the Bike Chattanooga program. This past year, Bike Chattanooga celebrated a decade of service, kicking off with a series of events, supported by the Mayor, to mark the 10 year anniversary. 

While the City support for bike sharing in Chattanooga remains strong, 2022 also brought further connection with the community, welcoming many more members to the system. Annual memberships sold was up 14% YOY, while the annual member ridership increased at the same fierce rate. More and more Chattanoogans are discovering the benefits of biking and accessing bike share as a way to move around the city. 

Chattanooga was an early-adopter of e-bikes back in 2018. E-bikes continue to be popular among members and all riders, with e-bike ridership accounting for 35% of all trips taken in 2022, while only representing 14% of the bike fleet. With e-bikes being this popular, we are excited to introduce more in 2023 – Chattanooga is ready for some serious pedal power!

Paratransit

Before finishing off the year, Shift prepared to transition operations and launch our second market with partner Via, one of the largest microtransit/paratransit companies in North America. Shift has successfully operated the Green Bay, Wisconsin paratransit service since March 2020, now adding Hampton Roads, Virginia, a program consisting of 85+ vehicles. 

Shift Transit oversees all mechanical and maintenance of vehicle operations, including preventive maintenance programs, OEM recalls, road calls, and general repairs. The majority of the fleet consists of paratransit WAV (wheelchair-accessible vehicle) e-450 buses outfitted with lifts which we also service and maintain. As an essential service for the community, the goal is to maintain a vehicle availability rate of over 90% at all times.

As we celebrate the wins of 2022, we also reflect on lessons learned and opportunities presented to shape a thriving 2023. Let’s ride!

For our fourth profile in our Employee Spotlight series, we checked in with Joannah Burkhardt, General Manager (GM) of the Bike Chattanooga program. Joannah has been an integral part of the program since it began 10+ years ago and is largely responsible for its record-breaking growth and success over the past few years. Today, Bike Chattanooga is seen as a national model for how to operate a viable, thriving bikeshare service in a smaller city.

We spoke with Joannah to learn more about how Bike Chattanooga has evolved over the years, the critical characteristics Chattanooga possesses that make it a great biking city, and our exciting upcoming expansion plans.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I was born in Florida and am the youngest of 5. At age 4, my family moved to Tennessee where I have lived most of my life. I started my journey with Bike Chattanooga over 10 years ago as the Marketing Manager and then moving into the General Manager Position. The whole concept of bikeshare sparked my interest when I first heard about it. Coincidentally, through friends, I met the previous GM that was handling the launch of the program and here I am 10 years later.

You’ve been a part of Bike Chattanooga since the program launched more than 10 years ago. What are the biggest changes you’ve experienced and observed since you started?

I’d say the biggest changes I’ve experienced are how much downtown has grown and how the city has transformed into more of a bicycle friendly town. Ten years ago there was minimal bike infrastructure and now we have protected bike lanes, miles of new cycling infrastructure, and a Riverwalk that spans over 16 miles.

Bike Chattanooga has enjoyed tremendous success over the past few years, consistently breaking major usage and customer acquisition records. What do you attribute this to?

Introducing eBikes to the system was a huge game changer. People absolutely love them and we are seeing up to 4x more trips on ebikes vs pedal bikes. I also have an amazing team that works very hard to keep the system up and running. Without them, our success wouldn’t be possible.

Chattanooga is obviously a lot smaller than those cities that we mostly think of when it comes to successful bikeshare programs, including Toronto, New York, and Chicago. What qualities does Chattanooga possess that makes it a model for operating a successful bikeshare program in a smaller city? 

Chattanooga has a thriving arts, music, and dining scene along with a variety of outdoor adventures making it a tourist and vacation hotspot. Chattanooga also hosts multiple sporting competitions throughout the year attracting visitors from all over the world. Bike Chattanooga is an added attraction to the city’s bustling tourist scene.    

Bike Chattanooga is set to expand over the next few months. Can you tell us a bit more about the program’s expansion plans?

We are so excited to be adding an additional 50 pedal assist ebikes to our fleet and another ebike charging station. We will be replacing the already existing Walnut Street Bridge station with an ebike charging station to assist in the charging of additional ebikes. Once received, we will have a total of 105 pedal assist ebikes, 345 pedal bikes, 38 solar stations and 5 ebike charging stations.

As one of a few women leading the day-to-day operations of a bikeshare program, what advice would you give to other women in the industry seeking to become business unit leaders? 

Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Get out there and learn all aspects of your operations. The industry is constantly changing and improving, the more you understand and know about your entire operations, the better you can lead your team to success.

Multiple Shift Mobility Programs Enjoy Record Success

Picking up right where we left off in 2020, we are proud to announce that several Shift Transit mobility programs shattered ridership, revenue, and customer acquisition records in 2021. Our bikeshare programs in Toronto and Chattanooga continued their exponential growth and exceeded all of our clients’ aggressive KPI targets, paving the way for 2022 program expansions.

In addition, 2021 was a year of firsts for us. In July, we took over day-to-day operations of Chicago’s Cycle Center (now HUB312), a marquee mobility hub located in iconic Millennium Park. This is our first venture outside of the shared mobility sector and we couldn’t be prouder to do it in our hometown.

For a closer look at more of our 2021 achievements, keep on reading!

Bike Share Toronto

On the heels of its record-breaking 2020, Bike Share Toronto (BST) doubled-down on the theme in 2021, eclipsing 3 million annual trips for the first time in program history. The 3.5 million+ trips customers took represented a whopping 23% Y-o-Y increase and was largely driven by a significant uptick in annual member trips (35% Y-o-Y increase). Additionally, an annual membership proved to be an extremely attractive mobility option, with a 31% Y-o-Y increase in passes sold. 

And our causal member passes (Single Trip, 24-Hour, 3-day) continued to be an extremely popular hit, growing 57%, 37%, and 28% Y-o-Y, respectively.

In 2022, we look forward to the program’s continued growth in order to meet our new normal of year-in-year-out record-breaking results.

Bike Chattanooga

Not to be outdone, Bike Chattanooga blew past its 2020 high mark for ridership, eclipsing 90k trips for the first time in program history. Casual member trips continued their inexorable climb, with casual usage up 25% Y-o-Y and casual trips outpacing annual trips by a 8:2 margin.

In addition, the program generated the most trip revenue in service history. Compared to just two years ago, revenue has jumped by 50%.

As a result of the program’s success over the past two years, we will be adding new equipment to the fleet in the coming months. More to come on this great news soon!

HUB312 – Chicago’s mobility hub in the heart of Millennium Park

After a competitive RFP process, Shift Transit was selected by the City of Chicago as the new operator of the McDonald’s Cycle Center (now HUB312). Built in 2004 and located in iconic Millennium Park, HUB312 offers 300 bicycle parking spaces, lockers, and showers for bike commuters, a repair shop for bike repair and maintenance, and guided bike tours and rentals for visitors and locals all-year round.

In July 2021, Shift Transit successfully transitioned operations of the mobility hub and spent most of the remaining portion of the year refurbishing and revitalizing the space. We hired new team members and began to work with several neighborhood organizations to ensure residents across the city were aware of HUB312’s full slate of offerings. We look forward to building out this community mobility amenity in the years to come!

To learn more about how we can help your mobility program achieve this type of success, contact us at info@shiftransit.net.

Shift Transit’s Female Leaders Continue to Excel in the Mobility Industry

At Shift Transit, diversity is crucial to our success. We believe that inclusion creates a stronger workforce and promotes innovative thinking. And in an industry where only 15% of the overall workforce is female, we are proud that 50% of our management team is composed of female leaders. At Shift, we mentor, grow and empower the women on our team to become tomorrow’s leaders of successful, sustainable mobility programs.

On International Women’s Day, we want to take this opportunity to highlight a few of our female team members and their invaluable contributions to our company’s success as we celebrate and elevate women’s voices today, this month, and all year round.

Maintaining Operational Excellence for Bike Share Toronto

Betul Canbolat joined our Bike Share Toronto team in April 2020 and has held various roles and responsibilities over the course of the last year. Betul started off by supporting the 2020 Bike Share Toronto expansion and was quickly recognized for her hard work and can-do attitude. A few months later, Betul was asked to join our dedicated team of field mechanics who conduct in-field safety checks on the entire bicycle fleet each and every month. Their main responsibility is to ensure that every single bike in our system – 6,850 to be exact – are safe, reliable, and available to use. Betul has continued to flourish in this position, performing as many as 300 individual bike safety checks on a daily basis. She has proven to be a valued, passionate member of the team and played a critical role in Bike Share Toronto’s 2020 record-breaking success.

According to Betul, “Shift Transit and Bike Share Toronto are near and dear to my heart. As a newcomer to Canada, it has afforded me the opportunity to improve my skills in a multitude of ways and more importantly allows me to interact with various communities around the city on a daily basis. This is something that has truly allowed me to enjoy the multicultural diversity of this beautiful city, which is priceless in its own right. Most importantly, as a former Forest conservation officer in my native Turkey, the entire premise of Bike Share Toronto, which is to give people an alternative emission-free mode of transportation, is something that is intrinsically rewarding to me. I feel fortunate to be part of such a positive program and look forward to continuing to do my part in creating a better environment for future generations.”

Betul Canbolat, Field Mechanic, Bike Share Toronto

Leading Bike Chattanooga to New Heights

Joannah Burkhardt has been involved with the Bike Chattanooga program since it launched in 2012. She started as the program’s Marketing Manager and was then quickly promoted to the role of General Manager, spending nearly 10 years of her career dedicated to educating Chattanoogans about the benefits of bikeshare. One of Joannah’s favorite parts of the job is the ability to lead, motivate, and inspire her team to achieve different goals every single day. Joannah leads by example and is always willing to provide an assist to our employees with anything they need – from repairing a bike, to planning a marketing campaign, to meeting with city leaders to review the system’s performance.

She leans on other female leaders at Shift Transit for support and inspiration, stating, “It is so encouraging to see the number of strong women that work for Shift Transit and the impact we continue to make on a daily basis. The support and encouragement we get from each other and from our company are what makes Shift Transit a great place to work.”

Joannah’s work in Chattanooga continues to pay dividends almost a decade after she began working in bikeshare, leading Bike Chattanooga to record-breaking usage and membership gains in 2020.

Joannah Burkhardt, GM, Bike Chattanooga

Passion for Mobility Drives Shift Transit’s Overall Success

From front-line operations, to customer care, to marketing and beyond, our female team members play a critical role in ensuring our company’s day-to-day success. And for many of our female employees, the passion they share for mobility extends beyond their work at Shift Transit, as they spend their personal time working to grow the presence and influence of women in the industry at-large. For example, our VP of Marketing, Heili Toome, serves as a member of Women in Cycling, a new organization that aims to help enhance the visibility and impact of women in the cycling industry. And our Marketing Manager, Janine Ward, serves as a member of Women in Mobility, an organization created to accelerate personal and professional growth for women across the mobility industry.

Thank you to all of our terrific female team members who contribute so much to make our company the leading mobility operator in North America!!

Record-Breaking Growth Amidst Significant Change and Challenges in Mobility

2020 was completely unprecedented and ever-changing, especially for those of us in the mobility industry. At Shift Transit, we had to make significant changes to our operational approach in each of our business units overnight, ensuring that all of our team members were outfitted with personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer, and cleaning supplies to do their jobs safely. For our customers, we dramatically increased the cadence of cleanings for every bike, station, scooter, and van that we oversee, thoroughly cleaning every nook and cranny of each piece of equipment we care for to prevent customers from contracting or spreading COVID-19. Along with our clients, we held our breath as we worried and wondered about the impact the coronavirus would have on shared mobility, and our communities, as a whole.

But in the face of a global pandemic, Shift Transit’s business units flourished. In our bikesharing markets, our clients and the cities they serve deemed bikesharing an essential service, continuing to provide residents of Toronto, Detroit, Chattanooga, and Tucson with a safe, reliable transportation option. We adjusted and refined our marketing strategies and tactics to meet our users where they were – in parks and safe streets rather than previously bustling commercial corridors or downtown epicenters. Overall, total usage in all of our bikesharing markets was up a combined 17%, led by a 62% increase in weekend trips and 33% increase in casual user (non-annual member) trips. Most significantly, both our Toronto and Chattanooga markets shattered previous annual trip records, achievements we look forward to accelerating in 2021.

We were also fortunate enough to partner with Spin in Chicago, overseeing half of their 3,333-scooter units during the 2^nd iteration of the city’s pilot program. And we launched a completely new business line in Green Bay, Wisconsin, partnering with Via, one of the largest microtransit/paratransit companies in North America.

As we look towards the future, it’s clear how essential and impactful our work is to the clients and customers we serve. Safe and reliable bikes, scooters, and vans were a lifeline to city residents across the country. Many of the lessons and best practices we’ve learned and adopted will continue beyond the pandemic. Like all of you, we look forward to getting back to some semblance of normal in 2021 and building on the momentum we’ve created this past year.

For a deeper-dive into some of our 2020 highlights, see below:

Bike Share Toronto

The Bike Share Toronto (BST) system broke a number of usage records in 2020, including eclipsing 2.9 million trips for the first time in the service’s 10-year history. This increase was driven by a 35% Y-o-Y increase in casual users (single-trip, 24-hour, and 72-hour users), with more than 180k first-time casual users leading the way to our record-setting achievements. Another significant catalyst for these usage increases was the launch of our partnership with Qucit, an AI rebalancing software tool that further guided our decision-making in where and how we placed bikes in real-time. Rounding things out was the latest expansion of the system, with an additional 1,850 bikes, 160 stations, and 3,600+ docking points for users to choose from. This latest expansion, which brings the total system footprint to 6,850 bikes and 625 stations, also makes BST the 3^rd largest bikesharing program in North America.

Additionally, with most of us now working from home, we also saw a significant shift in how and when our users traversed the city on BST bikes. While we experienced a slight increase in the number of weekday trips, a significant driver of our system’s growth came on the weekend – a 65% Y-o-Y increase, specifically. Cooped up at home, many Toronto residents sought a safe, reliable way to get some exercise or run errands that they normally would have done by other transportation means.

Finally, after an extensive RFP process, Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) awarded Shift a 5-year contract extension in early 2020. We are thrilled to be able to continue our partnership with TPA and look forward to continuing to build on the success we’ve created with them for years to come.

Bike Chattanooga

Shift Transit has overseen the day-to-day operations of the Bike Chattanooga program since 2017. Since transitioning operations of the program from the previous vendor, we have introduced e-bikes into the fleet, forged partnerships with companies like REI to increase the service’s reach and exposure, and expanded the program to its current footprint of 42 stations and 400 bikes. And in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we oversaw the most successful year in the program’s history. Usage grew 20% Y-o-Y, with weekend usage up exponentially – 97% growth Y-o-Y, accounting for almost 50% of total system riders, as Chattanoogans took advantage of all the terrific trails and outdoor spaces the city has to offer. Like BST, we saw an influx of new users, with 80% of all ride passes purchased by new customers.

After almost ten years of existence, we are extremely excited about the program’s newfound momentum and look forward to bringing even more new bikeshare users into the fold this year.

MoGo Detroit

In June 2020, the MoGo bikeshare program expanded for the first time since it launched in 2017, increasing its footprint by 70% and into 5 neighboring jurisdictions, including Ferndale, Royal Oak, Oak Park, Berkley, and Huntington Woods. The expansion added 31 stations and 140 bikes to the fleet and also included a new pay-as-you-go pass ($1 to start your trip and 25 cents per minute thereafter), which proved to be extremely popular, accounting for more than 50% of all trip purchases in 2020.

Like bikeshare users in Toronto and Chattanooga, MoGo members rode farther and longer than in any previous year of operation, with average trip distance and duration up 70% Y-o-Y.

To cap things off, Shift Transit was awarded a 3-year contract to continue overseeing the day-to-day operations of the MoGo program. We are grateful for the trust and support of our terrific partners and look forward to continuing to scale new heights with them in the years to come.

Spin (Chicago)

Due to our previous experience working with Spin and our familiarity working in the City of Chicago – our HQ is based in Chicago and we formerly managed car2go’s 400 vehicle carsharing fleet there – we were asked to oversee half of Spin’s 3,333 scooter unit fleet as part of the 2^nd round of the City’s of Chicago’s scooter pilot that kicked off in August. Spin tasked us with managing the Equity Priority Area of the Service Zone, a 90 sq. mile territory covering the South and West sides of the city. The City created this Priority Area to ensure residents on the South and West sides had fair and equal access to using scooters deployed throughout the City. Shift was responsible for ensuring we had an adequate number of scooters in each of these 20 distinct zones on a 24/7 basis and that each scooter was sufficiently charged and safe to use. Our team of 20+ employees did an outstanding job hitting Spin’s and the City of Chicago’s equity goals, as well as consistently ensuring a 95% availability rate.

When the program ended in December, Spin was the only company that participated in the pilot that had not been cited for failing to hit the Equity Priority Area fleet availability requirements. We greatly enjoyed working with their entire team and forward to being able to continue to work with them if the City decides to resume its scooter program in 2021.

Via (Green Bay)

In the throes of the beginning of the pandemic, Shift Transit launched a completely new business line in Green Bay, Wisconsin, partnering with Via, one of the largest microtransit/paratransit companies in North America. The paratransit service in Green Bay, featuring three different types of vans, provides disabled, infirm, and elderly members of the community with a public transportation option for essential trips, including medical appointments and procedures, and trips to the grocery store.

Shift Transit oversaw a full-scale operational transition from the previous vendor and have overseen Via’s paratransit fleet since March 2020, including vehicle inspections, preventative maintenance, repair work, inventory purchasing, and vehicle cleanings. With a mechanic on-site, we are responsible for ensuring all vehicles are road ready for use and maximizing vehicle availability. To date, we have ensured a 99% vehicle availability rating and averaged a 24-hour return rate to service for those vehicles needing repair work.

In late 2020, Via expanded its service offering to include microtransit trips, increasing its overall fleet size and its coverage area.

How Shift Transit Changed Its Marketing Strategy To Adapt To The Times & Encourage A Record-Breaking Number of Torontonians To Discover Bike Share Toronto

If there is a bright side to 2020 (and let’s take what we can get!), it is how businesses, like Shift Transit, have pivoted to meet the times. It hasn’t been easy. But it’s been necessary. And for our Bike Share Toronto program, these necessary changes have resulted in a 76% increase in membership rolls and 27% increase in usage.

When COVID become our ongoing reality, Shift Transit knew that its marketing strategy needed to shift (no pun intended 😊) to meet the times. Sure, marketing is fluid. It’s always changing. But how do you make people feel safe using shared assets in the middle of a global pandemic? This was our new reality. Certainly, Bike Share Toronto has always been a reliable and safe way to move millions of Torontonians. But we needed to show that it continued to be reliable and SAFE during COVID. Here’s how we did it:

We Placed Bikes Where Torontonians Needed Them

We paired Bike Share Toronto with the city’s “quiet streets” program. In May, Toronto launched the ActiveTO program, which granted 57km of designated streets to cyclists and pedestrians to get outside and move. Quickly, Lake Shore Blvd West became the most utilized cycling route, with a reported average of 18,000 cyclists on weekends in June, July, and August. Given this, we introduced pop-up valet locations at key stations along Lake Shore Blvd West to ensure that riders had an available bike station and docking point. These pop-up valet stations helped riders by:

• Ensuring predictable and reliable drop-off and pick-up locations in heavily trafficked areas
• Giving Torontonians assistance (from a safe distance, of course!) as they adjusted to their new reality with education, purchasing assistance, and usage help
• Providing peace-of-mind for our users that bikes were clean and safe for usage. As it turns out, sharing is still OK during a pandemic. It just always needs to be safe and reliable

With these changes and peace-of-mind, Bike Share Toronto experienced its highest number of rides in a single weekend with 42,500 trips (during the weekend of August 8, 2020) and a 15% increase in “very satisfied” customer satisfaction.

We Launched An Awareness Campaign

We wanted to show Torontonians that Bike Share Toronto is a safe, reliable alternative during a pandemic. This was not easy, especially when, as of June 1, subway ridership in Toronto was only at 17 percent of pre-COVID levels.

But, as residents of the city, we knew that Torontonians were looking for alternative transportation—even if this need was belied by the subway and other public transit numbers. So, from June to October we ran a ridership campaign with the goal of generating awareness, accelerating trial and new user engagement, and driving system use. The campaign exceeded our expectations and generated over 85 million impressions (interests), driving awareness, and harnessing a call to action through all pockets of the city.

Our efforts resulted in:

• 274% increase in views and 69% increase in engagement on social media
• 19% growth in email subscribers
• 18% increase in social media followers

We Leaned In On Our Strategic Partnerships

We never underestimate our friends. So we reached out to our partners (notably, blogTO and Streets Of Toronto) to vouch for bikeshare and extol its tried-and-true benefits. This enabled us to reach Torontonians who would otherwise be outside of our scope, get them to try bikeshare, and get them hooked 😊. Our partnerships attracted 17,500 new-to-bike-share Torontonians to directly engage with Bike Share Toronto.

2020 has certainly thrown a few curveballs our way. However, in the face of the pandemic, we have been quick to pivot, and agile enough to recognize what we quickly needed to change, including our operational approach to meet our users where they now are.

Keep riding friends!