Hamilton’s Bike Share Program

The City of Hamilton, in partnership with Hamilton Bike Share and Social Bicycles Inc.,
implemented a bike share program in 2015. The new system utilizes smart-bike technology
developed by Social Bicycles Inc., and the innovative design gives users greater flexibility
compared to traditional dock-based systems.

The full fleet of 750 bikes and 116 hubs, spanning over 30 square kilometers, was deployed
in spring 2015 for the official launch of the program. Uptake has been very successful and
as of December 2015 there are over 7,300 regular users and a total of 9,300 individuals
have used the system at least once. Members have traveled over 445,000 kilometers
during the first year of operation, taking 215,000 trips.

Program goals include reducing single occupant vehicle use, decreasing greenhouse gas
emissions, improving air quality and increasing physical activity, connecting to public
transit, increasing transit use and providing opportunities for residents and visitors to
connect to the urban and natural environments. In a recent survey, SoBi riders reported
that since the system launched they are driving less, replacing motor vehicle trips with bike
share trips, and often utilizing bike share to connect with transit. Over 55% of users
indicated that before using bike share they cycled once a month or less, which means that
most bike share users are not regular cyclists. Therefore, bike share is achieving
transportation demand management goals of reducing single occupant vehicle trips and
increasing active modes of transportation, in order to achieve Transportation Master Plan
goals and metrics.