REQX Ventures buys Alta Bicycle Share

[mstone]

Is that pronounced wrecks?

[Dewey]

Ouch, a 60% increase in the cost of annual membership for NYC Citi Bike users.

[PotomacCyclist]

It’s still a good deal for those who use Citi Bike to replace some of their subway or bus trips. Even at $145 a year, a member would break even if they biked 29 days of the year (two ways). The base subway fare is $2.50, or $5 round-trip. Some might bike more than twice a day on certain days, which puts the break-even point that much earlier.

REQX is expected to expand the system, so those memberships become even more useful. Ideally, they will fix the flawed Citi Bike/Bixi software too.

I’m not sure why tourists haven’t used Citi Bike as much as expected. Maybe it’s the software issues? Is it a lack of infrastructure in tourist areas? Or are NYC drivers more intimidating to other road users? I don’t know. DC drivers can be reckless and aggressive too, but that hasn’t deterred visitors from making numerous CaBi trips over the past 4 years.

[cyclingfool]

Capital Bikeshare’s success with the tourist market is probably a combination of several factors:
*Most of DC’s tourist attractions are concentrated in a relatively small area, which coincidentally is largely parklike and with decent infrastructure totally separated from cars
*Relative lack of metro stations nearby, especially around the Tidal Basin and the west end of the Mall.

Downtown DC near and on the Mall is fit all intents and purposes a big free amusement park.

NYC tourist sites are not so clustered, and the cycling infra between sites, though improving, is not generally the parklike setting of the Mall.

People probably feel daunted by traffic, distance, and relatively more difficulty navigating in NYC.

[PotomacCyclist]

Alta Bicycle Share has a new CEO, Jay Walder (former head of the Metropolitan Transit Authority in NYC), and a new location, moving from Portland OR to NYC. A new entity, Bikeshare Holdings LLC, will take formal control of Alta.

Citibank is providing an additional $70.5 million to NYC’s Citi Bike system, on top of the $41 million it has already invested as the lead sponsor. The new deal extends Citibank’s licensing deal past 2019 to 2024. The new investments will boost the number of bikes in Citi Bike from 6,000 to about 7,000 next year and as many as 12,000 by 2017. Goldman Sachs is increasing Alta’s credit line by $15 million.

So clearly the new owners are focusing on expansion of bikeshare, not a retrenchment and cost-saving mode.

NYC Housing Authority residents and members of participating credit unions remain eligible for the current $60 discounted annual membership program.

***
Arlington, DC and Alexandria have already announced their plans to expand Capital Bikeshare in their jurisdictions. They have been delayed by the equipment supply problems created by the Bixi bankruptcy. If that gets sorted out (which seems to be the case), then Capital Bikeshare could see its own significant expansion next year. There have been a few new stations and bikes this year, but those were obtained from Ottawa (which is switching from a Bixi system to a different system). If the Alta/8D partnership and the new Bixi are able to start providing bikes and stations again, expansion will pick up in the CaBi system.

BikeArlington posted their expansion plans just recently. DC will move into new neighborhoods while also adding new docks at the busy downtown stations. Prince George’s has been planning to start up bikeshare in College Park, but those plans were put on hold because of the Bixi bankruptcy.

Quite a lot of news in the bikeshare world this week and it seems to be positive for now. Some were concerned that Alta, Bixi and other bikeshare-related companies would be bought by groups that would try to tear down bikeshare systems. That doesn’t appear to be the case.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/nyregion/citi-bike-to-expand-as-new-york-city-reaches-deal-with-private-company.html

http://www.streetsblog.org/2014/10/28/citi-bike-2-0-new-owners-hire-jay-walder-promise-bike-share-expansion/

Alta Planning + Design remains independent and based in Portland OR. Alta Bicycle Share is a spinoff of the design outfit, which became much bigger than the original company.

http://bikeportland.org/2014/10/28/nyc-investment-company-buys-alta-bicycle-share-hires-former-transit-ceo-112810

[PotomacCyclist]

@PotomacCyclist 98161 wrote:

It’s still a good deal for those who use Citi Bike to replace some of their subway or bus trips. Even at $145 a year, a member would break even if they biked 29 days of the year (two ways). The base subway fare is $2.50, or $5 round-trip. Some might bike more than twice a day on certain days, which puts the break-even point that much earlier.

REQX is expected to expand the system, so those memberships become even more useful. Ideally, they will fix the flawed Citi Bike/Bixi software too.

I’m not sure why tourists haven’t used Citi Bike as much as expected. Maybe it’s the software issues? Is it a lack of infrastructure in tourist areas? Or are NYC drivers more intimidating to other road users? I don’t know. DC drivers can be reckless and aggressive too, but that hasn’t deterred visitors from making numerous CaBi trips over the past 4 years.

The Citi Bike annual membership fee is now officially $149 a year.

http://citibikeblog.tumblr.com/post/101182979267/expansion-woo-hoo

[Author]

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