Thank you for your questions regarding the City of Philadelphia’s bike share program in your recent editorial, “We have questions about Philly Bike Share” (Jan. 8, 2015).

Philadelphia residents who live on limited incomes stand to benefit the most from a new low-cost transportation option. Bike share has an important role to play in supporting citizens by reducing transportation costs, integrating more physical activity into daily life and better connecting them to economic, educational, and recreational activities. The city has made sure that communities that have been historically left out of transportation planning processes are included in the conversation about the planning and implementation of our bike share system.  

When the bike share system launches this spring, one-third of the bike share stations will be in neighborhoods in North, South, and West Philadelphia, where at least 50 percent of households live at or below 150 percent of the poverty level and/or where the median household income is at or below 80 percent of the Philadelphia median household income. No other bike share system has included so many lower income neighborhoods from day one. We surveyed individuals and we met with community leaders, neighborhood associations, community-based organizations, City Council members, and property owners in neighborhoods across the service area. Because of this invaluable dialogue, we have confidently pinpointed bike share station locations that will benefit the neighborhoods where we launch.

The city hired Temple University’s Institute of Survey Research to conduct focus groups to gain an understanding of low-income residents’ and residents’ of color perspectives on the obstacles to using a bike share system. Our program will include important innovations that reflect input from these citizens. Thirty-day and pay-as-you-go pricing options will provide a low cost to start using the system and offer excellent value for residents regardless of income. We will be the first large city to provide members the ability to ride for up to an hour without incurring additional charges. When the system launches, there will be a means to purchase a 30-day membership without a credit card. 

Bike Share is not designed to compete with bike shops like Ruedas Mexibike and El Taller de Bicicletas, which serve residents who already get around by bike. In fact, these shops and others stand to benefit as residents who have not previously ridden in the city try it first on bike share and then decide to purchase a bike for themselves. The system operator, Philadelphia-based Bicycle Transit System, is committed to having a workforce that reflects Philadelphia, and positions with the company will pay a living wage and provide benefits. As cycling has become more popular, bike parking has become a challenge. In the last seven years, we have installed thousands of bike racks across the city. Bike Share stations will not remove bike parking. 

It is our mission for bike share to have real value in the lives of those who can benefit from a new low-cost transportation option the most — and we cannot build a successful bike share program without them.