Toronto bike share price hike hasn’t damaged growth: report

An increase in the cost of bike rentals in Toronto has not dampened the popularity of the short-term cycling program, a report by officials running the service says

In April 2023, the Toronto Parking Authority — which runs Bike Share Toronto — changed how much it costs to ride in the city and pushed prices up.

The change got rid of set fares and switched to charge riders for every minute they were using one of the program’s bikes.

Unlocking bikes now cost $1, with an extra 12 cents per minute for manual bikes and 20 cents for electric bikes.

The update was the first change to pricing in 2017, according to officials, and was meant to “address the imbalance between volume growth and cost pressures” that had ground the system down.

Since the prices were changed, the number of annual memberships for the city’s bike share program has grown. The rate of pay-as-you-go riders is up too.

A new report from the Toronto Parking Authority said annual memberships since April grew 10 per cent in 2023, while casual riders were up 111 per cent.

“Overall customer satisfaction with the program, including the rate structure, remains at industry leading levels,” the report said.

Usage of the bike share system in the city has exploded in just over a decade.

The number of bike stations has jumped from 80 in 2011 to 780 in 2023. During that period, ridership grew from 400,000 to a projected 5.5 million.