Jun. 14—Houston's long-struggling system of on-demand bicycles is reaching the end of the trail.
BCycle, the system of kiosks with available bikes spread around downtown, Midtown and other locations will close June 30, officials with the nonprofit that operates it said.
"Despite our efforts, Houston Bike Share, the nonprofit operator, has been unable to secure the necessary funding and leadership to sustain operations," the group said.
In a letter sent earlier this month to partners, the chairman of the nonprofit's board, Neeraj Tandon, said working with the city all the BCycle stations around the city could be removed by Sept. 15.
Houston city leaders in October bailed out the nonprofit with funding to last until June, with the hope another bike sharing system would replace it. At that time, Metropolitan Transit Authority approved a plan to integrate on-demand bikes into its own operations. Since, however, Metro leadership has changed and interim CEO Tom Jasien said transit officials are still searching for another partner to help defray costs. As a result, despite an agreement with a Canadian company to install 20 kiosks and bring 170 bikes to Houston, nothing has been done to establish a system.
BCycle, popular with recreational riders along Houston's bayou trails and within downtown, grew from a pilot of three stations and a dozen bikes in the central business district to more than 100 locations offering more than 700 bicycles, 100 of them electric pedal-assisted bikes.
That growth, however, strained resources for the nonprofit that had to maintain and distribute bikes around the area. Offering daily, monthly and annual passes, as well as fees for use of the bikes for extended periods of time, were never enough to cover costs. Grants and corporate sponsorships covered some of the deficit, but as the system grew and the pandemic altered funding, the nonprofit found itself underwater.
"We hope Houston will find a way to reintroduce bike sharing soon," the nonprofit said.
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