Honolulu plans to revive the city’s troubled Biki bikeshare program by spending $1 million to buy 600 bikes. It also wants lawmakers to allocate another half-million dollars during the next fiscal year to fund bikeshare operations.
The strategy is to boost Bike’s bicycle inventory, increase ridership and improve customer service, said Roger Morton, the director of the city’s Department of Transportation Services.
He told City Council members during a committee meeting on Wednesday that revenue would increase once the program added new bicycles for people to ride.
“I can't tell you exactly how much it will increase. Part of it is dependent upon how well we market it, how well the operator markets the system,” Morton said. He added: “You can be sure that we're motivated to try to make it work.”
The funding is coming from the city’s Climate Resiliency Fund. Morton said most U.S. cities subsidize their rideshare programs to varying degrees. Morton wants to use federal funding to replace some of the docking stations.
Biki thrived in the first years of its existence. At one point, it was the sixth most used bikeshare program in the U.S.
But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Tourism crashed, ridership fell, and companies like Japan’s All Nippon Airways pulled sponsorships.
The system has since been plagued by vandalism and higher operating costs. Morton said one person who bent bikes with his bare hands destroyed 100 bicycles. Morton said this person had been incarcerated several times and had a mental illness.
Morton said the number of bikes in service has shrunk from a peak of 1,300 to just 590 now.
The rideshare program can’t offer reliable service without enough bicycles, he said.
He called Biki an affordable transportation option for residents and visitors. He said travel on the bicycles reduces emissions and congestion.
Radiant Cordero, the chairperson of the City Council’s Transportation Committee, said the council recognizes Biki plays an important role in connecting communities. The council supports the city’s use of money from the Climate Resiliency Fund.
“These actions will increase the availability of bikes and create a more reliable system to better serve residents and commuters,” Cordero said in an emailed statement.
Biki should get some corporate sponsors to come back once it has sufficient bicycles again, Morton said. The bicycles will take about six months to arrive once they’re ordered.
The city is exploring giving Skyline and city bus riders a free 15-minute ride on a Biki bicycle to help them get to their final destination. It’s also looking at expanding the program into the Kalihi neighborhood.
