Bikeshare in Houston - will it stay or go? (city hall, to rent)

[drive carephilly]

I saw this article -

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/a...ial-hardships/

I'm curious, has anyone been on it?

[SanJac]

The last I heard the city is bailing it out so it will survive.

[Jtxg]

FY 2022: $1.71M revenue vs $1.78M in expenses. Sure why not put tax payer money on the hook for another sinking ship. $5 says someone on the board of Houston BCycle is profiting from this taxpayer...donation we'll call it, all because he or she has connections at city hall.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by Jtxg

FY 2022: $1.71M revenue vs $1.78M in expenses. Sure why not put tax payer money on the hook for another sinking ship. $5 says someone on the board of Houston BCycle is profiting from this taxpayer...donation we'll call it, all because he or she has connections at city hall.

I'm calling your claim cynical and untrue. If you have evidence of corruption, contact the DA's office.

I've seen nothing that says the City is putting any money into BCycle since the announcement it was closing.

[Jtxg]

Originally Posted by WRM20

I'm calling your claim cynical and untrue. If you have evidence of corruption, contact the DA's office.

I've seen nothing that says the City is putting any money into BCycle since the announcement it was closing.

While my comment is cynical in nature, there is a Houston Landing article from yesterday saying the Mayor is sending a $500k proposal to city council to bail out this program. And that is taxpayer money, if the city is offering it up. There's an article in the Chronicle about it as well.

https://houstonlanding.org/mayor-tur...0000-lifeline/

[LocalPlanner]

BCycle is going to largely go away. Maybe it will remain in Downtown or couple adjacent areas, but I'm not expecting much.

Apparently METRO is trying to do its own thing, separate from BCycle.

[houston-nomad]

Taxpayers pay for endless highways, why shouldn't we also pay for a bike share program? It's all transportation.

Or maybe I should throw a hissy fit every time a road is constructed or repaired?

[SanJac]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

Taxpayers pay for endless highways, why shouldn't we also pay for a bike share program? It's all transportation.

Or maybe I should throw a hissy fit every time a road is constructed or repaired?

Be honest. The roads are typically always congested. Nobody uses the bike share which is why it’s going under. Also, 99% of the time bike lanes are also unused. It’s a joke but I suppose the city gets federal funds for doing stupid things.

[houston-nomad]

You're wrong. It's apparently been very popular.

[kreeyax]

It's 5 to 7 dollars to rent one for 30 minutes. Are people really paying $10-$14 to ride to work and back on one of these? Seems like Metro would be way cheaper and there's a lot more places to hop on a train or bus.