Bike Share in Hamilton Two-Wheeled Mobility

NRU
Jan. 27, 2016
George Liu

Bike share members have pedalled just shy of half a million kilometres since the iconic blue SoBi bicycles appeared on the streets of Hamilton last January. With a fleet of 750 bicycles in 100 hubs, SoBi provides users the freedom to roam the entirety of Lower Hamilton and Dundas.

“Convenience is the number one motivator for why people use our system. You just get on and go, and you can park right outside the door of your destination. Our riders also like that it is a healthy and active mode of transportation, and that they can reduce their ecological footprint by choosing to bike instead of driving. Plus, it’s just plain fun!” SoBi Hamilton strategic development director Chelsea Cox told NRU.

SoBi Hamilton is the local, nonprofit operator of the bike share system. The bikes and racks were purchased by the City of Hamilton using $1.6-million from the Metrolinx Quick Wins program. The city has ambitious plans to increase active transportation, and bike share is one example of how it has invested in visible cycling infrastructure throughout the city.

“The bike share program was planned to align with new infrastructure investments, which include the Cannon/York corridor bike lane. Our city vision is to see 15 per cent of people relying on cycling and walking on a daily basis—up from the current 6 to 8 per cent,” Hamilton public works spokesperson Kelly Anderson told NRU.

“The bike share system is a form of transit that appeals to a different type of rider than a typical cyclist. Fift y-five per cent of bike share users surveyed report having ridden a bicycle once a month or less before using bike share, and after using bike share [they] report cycling more and driving less. From a sustainable mobility perspective, bike share is an important behaviour change strategy that lessens citizen’s reliance on single-occupant vehicles.”

Anderson says the planned A-Line and B-Line LRT corridors fall within the current bike share service area. New LRT stops that are being designed will include bike share stations where possible, including existing bike hubs at the West Harbour and Hamilton Centre GO stations.

“Thirty per cent of bike share riders use the service to connect to transit, so, as a transit feeder system, bike share will play an important role in the support of new transit infrastructure such as the LRT system.”

The topography of Hamilton presents a challenge for cyclists as the city is segregated by Highway 403 running through a valley to the west and the Niagara Escarpment to the south. But the city has invested in infrastructure to help cyclists overcome these barriers. Anderson highlighted the King Street West bridge protected cycle lane improvements as key to providing better access to Westdale Village and McMaster University. In 2016, staff will be studying options for bike lanes on the Claremont Access to give cyclists a safe route up and down the steep escarpment.

While Hamilton’s investment in bike lanes has made a visible statement supporting cycling in the city, Cox thinks SoBi’s ridership data suggest that land use patterns may have the greatest impact on cycling uptake.

“While our busiest hubs are located near existing bike lanes, the biggest factor seems to be the destinations (workplaces, employment and businesses) and density of people in those areas.”

Definitive changes in city-wide travel patterns will be revealed by the results of the Fall 2016 Transportation Tomorrow Survey. Meanwhile, Anderson says traffic counts have revealed that about 500 cyclists daily use the new Cannon Street cycle track where there were virtually zero cyclists previously.

“People ride year round in Hamilton. There isn’t too much snow here and people still have places to get to... you just have to plan ahead a bit more in the winter and bring gloves and a hat,” said Cox.

Charlton Avenue and Herkimer Street bike lanes and the missing segment of Hunter Street will be significant additions to the cycling network in 2016.