Although for seemingly different reasons, Portland-based Alta Bicycle Share is at the center of delays in launching highly-anticipated bike share programs in both Chicago and New York.
The past few weeks of news have not been kind to Alta Bicycle Share, the Portland-based company responsible for building and operating new city-wide bike share systems in New York and Chicago. First came news that New York's Citi Bike system, scheduled to launch in July of this year, would be delayed indefinitely due to unexplained software problems.
This week brought news that Alta's bike share program for Chicago, which was supposed to
offer 3,000 bikes for rental this summer at 300 stations throughout the city, has been put
off until next spring, reports Fran Spielman.
Chicago's delay - attributed to planning hurdles - "comes as Inspector General Joe Ferguson continues to
investigate a rival bidder's claim that the bid process was greased for
Alta Bicycle Share, an Oregon company that once hired Transportation
Commissioner Gabe Klein as a consultant."
Alta currently operates the Capital Bikeshare program in Washington D.C. and the Hubway in Boston.
Read the full story: City’s bike sharing program delayed until next year
Alta Bicycle Share Changes its Name
Alta Bicycle Share is now known as Motivate. So let it be written. So let it be done.
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The Divvy bike share system saw its highest ridership ever in 2025 with 6.8 million trips.
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