The task of initiating environmentally friendly projects in cities can place a financial strain on governments, since, more often than not, they are financially inviable.
Such is the case with Mi Bici, Guadalajara’s bike-share program – for many a breath of fresh air in a city that has few answers to its growing air pollution woes.
Modeled on similar programs in London, New York and some European capitals, Mi Bici got moving three years ago. With 246 bikes stations, around 2,000 bikes, 15,000 members and 10,000 daily rides, the program has been a unqualified success, Mario Córdova España, the director general of the Instituto de Movilidad, said this week.
Financially, however, the program is a drain on government resources. Operating costs run around 38 million pesos annually, while yearly memberships – 365 pesos per person – bring in just five million pesos, he acknowledged.
For many Tapatios, the environmental benefits outweigh the costs. Córdova España estimated that the 2.8 million Mi Bici rides made since its launch would have generated the equivalent of 642 tons of contaminants had those journeys been made by car.
Although Córdova España insisted the program needs to become self-sufficient, he offered no clear pathway as to how this might occur.
On the other hand, he announced that the program plans to expand significantly in 2018 in a bid to obtain new users, although financial realities may complicate this goal.
The aim of Mi Bici’s “second phase” is to expand the program throughout the metropolitan area and almost double the number of stations to 450 and bikes to 4,100.
The plan would see the distance linking the network of stations lengthen from 23.3 to 47.8 kilometers. An emphasis would be placed on obtaining “connectivity” withpublic transport routes, especially the third Tren Ligero (subway) line currently under construction.
Whether this will happen is a moot point. The expansion requires an investment of around 250 million pesos but the Jalisco Finance and Planning Secretariat (Sepaf) says the entire budget for Mi Bici next year tops out at 100 million.
After operating costs, the remaining 62 million pesos would be insufficient to expand the program in a way that Córdova España believes could “quintuple” its number of users.
He bases this assumption on data showing that 47 percent of people using the bike-share program make rides to link up with a public transport network.
In other data supplied this week, Córdova España noted that almost one-third of Mi Bici members fall into the 25-29 age bracket. The average age of users is 32 and less than a third are female. The average ride lasts 12 minutes, over a distance of three kilometers.
Only two serious accidents involving Mi Bici bikes have been reported in three years, Córdova España said. However, 65 percent of users agreed that cycling in the metropolitan area is an unsafe form of transportation.
For Mi Bici maps, fees, registration details and other information, go to mibici.net/es.
NOW THERE’S AN IDEA!
Residents of the Lake Chapala area can sign up with Mi Bici and use the bikes on major Guadalajara streets and avenues during the Sunday car-free Via RecreActiva activity.
The registrationfee is 365 pesos.See mibici.net/es& viarecreactiva.org.