As the Chicago bikeshare service extends to more area in the city, some of the stations are in less dense locations and get fewer riders. Thus, though Divvy's revenues have gone up, the income to the city from the program has gone down.
Chicago's Divvy Bikes program is getting bigger and now serves more people, but despite that investment less revenue is coming into the city.
One consistent criticism of Divvy has been a lack of investment in poor and minority neighborhoods. This year, Divvy has invested more in stations that get fewer rides or exist in less dense neighborhoods and that has meant both increased new construction costs and certain stations that get fewer rides. So, while overall rides have gone up, rides per station and overall income to the city have gone down.
"The city uses its Divvy income to pay for the Bicycling Ambassadors, a program that promotes safe biking and infrastructure such as painted bike lanes," Mary Wisniewski and Gregory Prat report for the Chicago Tribune. To continue supporting the Ambassador program at the rate it enjoyed last year, the city will have to find new sources of funding.
Read the full story: Chicago sees drop in Divvy income following expansion into South, West sides
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