Bike Share Toronto just announced a new pricing structure: What this means and why you should care

Last week, the Toronto Parking Authority submitted a request to “modernize” Bike Share Toronto’s fee structure. This was announced just days before the TPA Board meeting, leaving little time for people to review and consider the proposed changes. Some of the changes include modest increases to annual memberships that do not represent a significant barrier to use, but we are most concerned about the following changes:

1. Annual memberships will no longer include the FREE use of e-bikes and will face a $.10 per minute fee to access the e-fleet. This will be a huge barrier for those that need them the most.
2. To maintain affordability for Toronto residents, and incentivize the annual membership, the cost for casual use will get the largest cost increases:
   • The 24 hour pass will double in price ($15, up from $7) and the 72 hour pass will be scrapped. E-bikes will also not be included in the 24 hour pass.
   • Casual Single ride will move from a static rate of $3.25 for 30 minutes to $1 undocking fee plus $0.12 per minute for regular bikes or $0.20 per minute for e-bikes ($0.10 per minute for members). This means that a 30 minute ride would now cost $4.60 for a regular bike, and $7 on an e-bike.

At first glance, these price increases might not seem like a big deal. Prices are going up all over, so why does it matter that Bike Share’s are as well? There are a few reasons we think you should care:

• Bike Share has been incredibly successful at moving more people sustainably and has increased their ridership by 70% since 2019, seeing 4.6 million rides in 2022 alone. 
  • By comparison, revenues generated by on and off street car parking are only at 84% of 2019 levels. 
  • Based on the success of Bike Share Toronto, why is the TPA investing just 8% of the $343.2 million they have earmarked for the Electric Vehicle charging program, 4-year Bike Share expansion and Garage and Infrastructure Revitalization? As outlined in their 2023-2032 Capital Budget and Plan,  the TPA is spending 92% of these capital investment funds to build out more car infrastructure, which benefits only those that can afford access to a car.
• It shouldn’t be cheaper to drive - but it often is! Imagine you live in Scarborough and you’re coming in for work downtown - you will need to pay up to $4.50 for an e-bike to get you to a transit station, and then pay another $3.35 for the subway. Suddenly, you’ll be paying up to $16 a day just to get to and from work! On-street parking can be as low as $4 per hour (or less for those with monthly on-street parking permits), so those lucky enough to be able to afford a car will likely opt to drive.
• Bike Share will become ridiculously expensive for people commuting from the inner suburbs. Toronto says it's serious about prioritizing public health, climate action, and transportation equity, but making Bike Share and TTC increasingly out of reach for residents who rely on their service the most is inequitable, unjust, and discriminates against equity deserving communities. 

3 actions you can take to help today:

1. Send an email to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee to let them know you support our recommendations. (Sample email below!)
2. Share this article on social media so that we can get people talking about why it’s an important issue. You can use our handy social media templates:
   • I support @CycleToronto asking to keep @BikeShareToronto pricing affordable for all! If we’re serious about meeting our public health, climate action, and transportation equity goals, we must make #ActiveTransportation a priority. Read more: https://www.cycleto.ca/news/bike-share-toronto-just-announced-new-pricing-structure-what-means-and-why-you-should-care
3. Support our advocacy efforts by donating, if you can (we don’t receive any core funding from any level of government and rely in large part on the generosity of our supporters). 

Our recommendations:
1. Reduce the proposed $0.10 per min for annual members who use e-bikes. For those that travel from the inner suburbs, that will add $4.50 for a 45 min ride, and this doesn’t include the cost of connecting to the TTC, which adds another $3.35. For those traveling even farther, and who rely on GO transit, it becomes an even bigger barrier to accessing opportunities in Toronto.

2. Consider alternative revenue tools by revisiting the cost recovery pricing structure of TPA’s portfolio of on and off-street parking, EV charging program to take a more equitable approach to to incentivize people towards active modes of transportation and prioritizing the ridership needs of those who are most impacted by transportation inequities simply because of where they live.
The hourly cost of on and off-street parking, for example, could be increased to better reflect the cost of the land use and maintenance, which will help the city move away from the over reliance of single car use occupancy.

3. Postpone the implementation of the new rate structure, which is currently slated to take effect on April 3, 2023, to allow time to revisit the pricing structure and to give people who rely on the service time to plan for any added expense to the growing cost to take public transportation.

4. Promote the low income pass widely and in such a way that those who qualify can take advantage of the program.

Sample Email