There is a large public bike sharing system called B-Cycles which is partnered with some very well-known corporations like Trek Bicycle Corporation, Humana, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky. These partners collaborated with one another and launched the first ever B-Cycle in Denver, Colorado in 2010 creating B-cycle, LLC. B-cycles mission is “To change the way you get around. And thereby change our communities for the better.”
B-cycles was named Number 5 on Fast Company’s list of innovative transportation companies. Today, there are more than two dozen B-cycle cities on two continents. One of these B-cycle cities is the city of san Antonio.
The San Antonio B-cycle is operated by San Antonio Bike Share which is a nonprofit organization. The mission of San Antonio B-cycle is “To provide the community with a valuable bike sharing system they can use for a simple solution for health, transportation, and the environment.” That being said, San Antonio B-cycle makes it easy to gain access to their bicycles by having over 50 station in well commuted areas. Although it is easy to gain access to the B-cycle stations, not everyone in the community is able to enjoy it. The B-cycles are only serviceable to people 18 and over.
Trek Bicycle Corporation, designed the bike for both the rider and the city. The b-cycle comes in one type of bike, but it is easily adjustable to fit the different needs of people.
They strongly recommend reading a guide that explains how to use the bicycle features, as well as their Safety Guide which is not provided at the station, only on their website.
San Antonio B-cycle system allows bike checkouts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. An all-day pass costs $12, but what is not explained well is the checkout of the B-cycle. In order to check-out, the customer would have to dock their bike every 30 minutes to not get charged extra leaving the customer crunch on time. Many customers are confused on the check-out of the bicycles and are left with an outstanding fee for the bike rental. San Antonio is a place of tourism and attraction, it takes more than 30 minutes to explore a location, order and eat food without having to worry about the time, or even get from one destination to the other.
B-cycles can be picked up at any station and returned to any station when done, but despite this innovation, it makes it difficult for the user to find a place to dock especially in a group. Since the B-cycles can be returned to any station, there’s a multitude of bikes in an area and only 10 parking spots. The user would have to find the next available station to park their bike, leading them off their course of destination.
A major problem of the B-Cycle is that the customer service is not always available during their allotted time, making it difficult for the customer to gain information.
San Antonio B-Cycle is operated primarily off revenue from their customers, with some small grants from foundations and contributions from minor sponsor. In the past, San Antonio B-Cycle was on the verge of closing because it was unable to secure a primary sponsor and still is unable to secure a primary sponsor.
