Bringing bike-sharing back to Ottawa will cost up to $10 million, according to a report commissioned by the city.
Ottawa’s last pay-and-go bike racks disappeared in 2018 when Miami-based Cyclehop pulled its VeloGo bikes from the capital, the last in a series of similar but short-lived bike-share ventures.
E-scooters, which don’t need to be returned to a docking station, have dominated the local landscape ever since.
Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard has been lobbying since 2023 to get the bikes rolling again, and recently shared the results of a feasibility study by consultant Mobycon on his website.
The study recommends 1,200 bikes at 115 docking station across central Ottawa and Gatineau, and says annual ridership could climb to 450,000.
A feasibility study by the consulting company Mobycon recommends an initial service area of 30 square kilometres covering both Ottawa and Gatineau. (Mobycon)
Up-front capital costs could range from $9 million to $10 million, with additional annual costs ranging from $450,000 to $2.2 million. More work is needed to develop a funding strategy, according to a city memo.
Menard called those cost estimates “actually fairly cheap” in comparison to other transportation expenses the city deals with.
“We’ve spent $7 billion on light rail, we’ve spent so many hundreds of millions every single year on roads,” he said.
He suggested the cost could be shared between the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau and the National Capital Commission, with climate grants possibly covering part of it.
“There are lots of partners that I think want this. We’d have to figure out who pays what,” he said.”
Too long to wait, advocate says
Menard noted that earlier bike-share programs in Ottawa were geared toward tourists rather than residents looking for a convenient and environmentally friendly way to get around the city centre.
Florence Lehmann, a board member of the cycling advocacy group Bike Ottawa, welcomed the study and likes that it includes such busy hubs as universities and government centres.
“We now have something concrete that talks about a way to start a bike-share program that should work and attract people,” she said.
Florence Lehmann with Bike Ottawa says she welcomes the study, but wants the city to speed up its timeline. (Radio-Canada)
The city’s public works and infrastructure committee will discuss the study on April 23. According to the city memo, the matter could be brought to a vote by mid-2027.
Lehmann, whose group has also been advocating to return bike-sharing to the capital, said that’s too long to wait.
“We asked them to start the bike-share system next year, not wait for another report,” she said. “That would probably mean 2028 before we get anything.”