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DDOT announces Capital Bikeshare fare increases, effective Aug. 1
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Summary
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) said it will raise Capital Bikeshare annual membership and e-bike per-minute rates to help cover operating and maintenance costs for the system’s growing fleet of e-bikes; changes take effect Aug. 1 and the agency will hold a virtual public meeting.
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced that Capital Bikeshare will raise its annual membership fee and e-bike per-minute rates, with the changes taking effect Aug. 1, agency official Aaron Goldbeck said.
Aaron Goldbeck, manager of the Sustainable Transportation Programs Branch at DDOT, said the systems rapid growth in e-bike usage since the last price update in 2021 has required a pricing adjustment to maintain financial sustainability. "We last updated our prices in 2021. And in the years since then, we've introduced thousands of ebikes into the system. Those ebikes have been more popular than we expected, but it means we need to adjust things to make sure the system is financially sustainable," he said.
Goldbeck said DDOT will reinvest all additional fare revenue into maintaining and operating the existing e-bikes, buying additional e-bikes and continuing to expand docking stations throughout the region. "We're gonna be reinvesting all of the increased fair revenue into maintaining and operating the e bikes we have now, plus additional e bikes that we plan on purchasing soon. We're also gonna continue to expand docking stations throughout the region," he said.
Under the changes Goldbeck described, annual membership will increase from $95 to $120. E-bike usage fees will rise for members from $0.10 per minute to $0.15 per minute and for nonmembers from $0.15 per minute to $0.35 per minute. "So what changes are we making specifically? The cost of annual membership is gonna go up from $95 to a $120 or about $10 a month if you wanna think about it that way. For ebikes, for members, the cost is gonna go from 10¢ per minute up to 15¢ per minute. For non members, the price is gonna go from 15¢ per minute to 35¢ per minute. These changes all go into effect on August 1," Goldbeck said.
Goldbeck said customers who sign up now can lock in the current rate for a full year. He also described an adjustment to the Capital Bikeshare for All program, which serves low-income residents, saying it "is gonna go to a $40 a month credit, which is gonna go towards e bike trips and out of station parking fees." He added that DDOT aims to keep Capital Bikeshare "the most affordable shared micro mobility option in the region." "We're incredibly proud of Capital Bikeshare, and we're committed to keeping it the most affordable shared micro mobility option in the region, which it still is even after these changes. And compared to peer cities, it's the most affordable dock based bike share system in a major US city," he said.
DDOT said it will host a virtual public meeting to review the changes and answer questions; Goldbeck directed listeners to the agencys webpage for details. "We'll be having a virtual public meeting to go over all of the details of the changes and answer any questions you might have. For more information on that, please visit the link below," he said.
The agency framed the adjustments as a revenue-neutral measure to support the e-bike fleet rather than a service reduction; the announcement did not reference any formal vote or legislative action.
