Vancouver Bike Share Inc (Mobi by Rogers) is the city’s public bike sharing service, and is now a centrepiece of Vancouver’s active transit landscape. What started with 24 stations and 250 bikes, now boasts 2,000 classic bikes and 600 e-bikes at 250+ stations. Last year the system clocked up a whopping 1.2 million rides, totalling around 3.77 million km of cycling.
We spoke to their team to find out how they are striving to serve the city’s population, and what they have planned for the future.
How did Mobi start out, and why was there a need for public bike share in Vancouver?
The City of Vancouver, in partnership with Vancouver Bike Share Inc. (VBS) launched Mobi, a bike share program designed to increase daily bicycle use, fill a gap in Vancouver’s transportation network, improve transportation equity, and reduce emissions and congestion caused by vehicle traffic.
Can you define Mobi’s vision for the future of Vancouver’s transit landscape in a sentence?
Sustainable, accessible, and affordable urban mobility in Metro Vancouver.
What are the city’s major barriers to accessible and inclusive transportation? And how does Mobi bridge these gaps?
Vancouver faces several barriers to accessible transportation, including an incomplete cycling infrastructure network, limited affordability, and gaps in integration between different modes of transport. Many public transit options are not fully accessible to people with disabilities, and cycling infrastructure is not always connected nor available where people want to go. Additionally, public transit fares can be prohibitive for low-income individuals.
While there’s still room for improvement, Mobi by Rogers helps bridge these gaps by offering an inclusive, affordable bike-share system. Its fleet includes bikes designed for ease of use, and the docking stations are accessible to a wide range of users in neighborhoods that transcend socio economic borders. Mobi’s flexible pricing, including reduced fares for low-income residents, makes it more affordable. The service also complements public transit, helping people reach areas not well-served by buses or trains.
Mobi is in its 8th year of operation. What have been the key milestones for the company?
One of the first was completing our initial launch of 1,500 bikes and 150 stations in 2017.
Then in 2022 we introduced ebikes to our fleet, expanding to Point Grey and UBC Campus.
Another high point has been creating and operating an equity program (Community Pass) that gives qualifying individuals access to bikeshare for only $20 per year. The Community Pass program has a number of qualification methods including referrals from over 70 local community organizations, non-profits, and government organizations. These partners include organizations that support women, youth, seniors, recent immigrants and newcomers, low-income people, unhoused people, people with disabilities, racialized people, and Indigenous people.
And of course, reaching over 1 million rides in one year in 2023 and again in 2024 has been incredible!
What have been the key challenges you have faced, and what do you see as some of the key challenges for the future?
The economics of running a station-based world-class bike sharing system is challenging without grants and public subsidies. Most major bike share systems in North America are owned and/ or funded by their municipal, provincial, and federal governments. It’s challenging to keep costs low for users when we rely on ridership revenue to fund our operations and capital expansions.
We continue to work with partners like TransLink, HUB Cycling, and the Public Bike Share team at the City of Vancouver to ensure that bike share remains a reliable transportation option.
Does seasonality affect ridership? And if so, how do you deal with/ adapt to fluctuations in usage?
Very much so. Ridership declines as the weather gets colder. We run campaigns to educate the public on riding safely in the winter – it’s more doable than many believe! We also run special promotions during some of our slower months or leading up to the Spring to boost sales. We use this time effectively to plan for the following season, so that we can put our best foot forward – not a moment wasted!
Many cities around the world have public bike share. Does Mobi ever engage with/collaborate with other public bikeshare programmes to develop services?
Yes. We are members of the North American Bikeshare and Scootershare Association (NABSA) and attend their annual conference to connect, share, and learn from our counterparts across North America.
How are you working with grassroots/local cycling advocacy organizations to help promote active travel?
We run several marketing campaigns annually with HUB Cycling – sponsoring their events like Go by Bike Week, Bike the Night, and community bike rides to educate people about the value of bike share & cycling. We also provide annual donations to help support their advocacy work.
The cycling sector faces significant challenges in regards to diversity, and many organizations have struggled to recruit more diverse teams. How has Mobi addressed this challenge?
We strive for diversity, equity, and inclusion in all areas of our operations. We have an active DEI committee that conducts training with all employees upon hiring, provides DEI training to all department Managers to incorporate into their hiring practices, and works to foster a healthy and safe environment for our employees to work.
And to end… What is your favourite Mobi dock station and why?
I think it has to be the one on 10th & Oak, by Vancouver General Hospital – mostly because of its location, it’s off-street under big, beautiful trees. It’s also used frequently by hospital staff, so I like to think that we’re doing our part in helping people as well.