Summer Updates From SA B-cycle

Happy Independence Day, everyone. To celebrate, San Antonio B-cycle, the state’s first bike share program, will now be open 24 hours a day beginning July 4.

Users can dock and undock their B-cycle any time of day or night, seven days a week. The expanded service will enable the growing user base to enjoy a ride even earlier in the morning and even later in the evening, both good strategies for beating the South Texas heat this summer.

We hope that this will make planning a night out in San Antonio a more interesting proposition.

At the same time, we wanted to reward our annual members for being so supportive, so we are now giving them unlimited one-hour trips.

San Antonio B-cycle Hub on the corner of South Alamo Street and East Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard. Photo by Leo Suarez.

That’s right, folks – twice as long as day pass users who follow the 30-minute rule. The clock starts when you undock and you can ride for up to one hour before usage fees begin to apply (still $2.00 per additional 30 minutes). We hope this provides members with a more relaxing (and longer) ride without fixating on the clock.

One simple rule to make B-cycle super affordable: Parking B-cycles at our B-stations is the most sensible and secure way to park. This allows the bikes to be shared with the community and ensures that you are not responsible for the bike if something happens. It also means you don’t get charged for down time, between rides.

Le Tour de B-cycle

B-cycle is pleased to announce its “Tour de B-cycle,” a city-wide event celebrating the 100th annual Tour de France. Between Monday, July 1st and Sunday, July 21 (to match the dates of the Tour de France) participants who visit all 32 Northern stations in one day will be awarded a San Antonio B-cycle t-shirt.

Rules can be found on our website!

The new B-cycle jersey available at Bike World and the B-cycle hub for $59.99. Photo by August Sullivan. — The new B-cycle jersey available at Bike World and the B-cycle hub for $59.99. Courtesy photo.

San Antonio B-cycle opened seven more stations last month

115 Crockett
Flores @ Cesar Chavez
1901 S Alamo
Acequia Park
Mission San Juan
Padre Park
Espada Dam

This brings our total system to 42 stations and 354 bikes.

In August, we plan to open 10 more stations, making our system 53 large.

Unfortunately, due to the historic one-day rainfall San Antonio experienced at the end of May, the San Antonio River Authority had to close several of our stations along the Mission Reach. Please check the SARA website before riding the Mission Reach to find which stations are closed.

When B-cycling on the Mission Reach, be sure to check in with SARA for flood updates. Photo by Tom Trevino.

Sister Cities International Award

On June 6th, Sister Cities International honored the City of San Antonio, through its Office of Sustainability, with the 2012 Innovation: Energy/Sustainable Development award for a city with a population of more than 500,001. The award is for San Antonio B-cycle, which has helped establish a new kind of biking community in San Antonio. The award will be officially presented on Saturday, July 13, during the 57th Sister Cities International Annual Conference, being held in San Antonio. More information can be found here.

Friends and family bond on bikes, in this case at the San Antonio Museum of Art. Photo courtesy San Antonio B-cycle.

Austin B-cycle Announced

On June 20, the Austin City Council approved a contract with B-cycle to begin a bike share system in Austin. The bike share program aims to be operable by late 2013 with 40 B-stations by Spring 2014. This is great news for San Antonio B-cycle annual members because “B-connected” allows them to use their B-card to access other participating B-cycle systems across the U.S. at no additional charge. More information on the Austin announcement can be found here.

Other Milestones and Statistics

San Antonio B-cycle Cumulative Data (as of June 29, 2013)

Number of trips: 106,890

Miles ridden: 379,251

Carbon offset: 412,360

Calories burned: 17,362,520

Gas saved: $63,478.84

August (Gus) Sullivan is San Antonio B-cycle’s business development director. An avid cyclist, Gus studied business and economics at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.