Madison, Wisconsin’s ebike library has been one of the most robust in America over the past few years. Known as the Community Pass Program, it offers free usage of the city’s Madison BCycle ebike-sharing program through the city’s libraries. Unlike CitiBike, Washington, DC’s Capital Bikeshare, or Chicago’s Divvy, all of which require a credit-card-linked account for use, a Bcycle can be unlocked with a fob obtained for free at any of the city’s nine library branches. All you need is a Madison library card. The fobs can be checked out for as long as a week. (The program is currently on hold through the summer while it undergoes program updates.)
While Madison’s library—and therefore its residents’ access to BCycles—spans much of the city, several cities are strategically placing their ebike libraries in or near lower-income communities, offering a free means of transportation to people who might struggle otherwise with a bikeshare program or who are less likely to own a car.
“It costs a minimum of $8,000 a year to own and operate a car in our country,” says Arleigh Greenwald, a former bike shop owner and YouTube influencer focused on ebike travel. “And if it’s not required to own a car in order to live where you live, you’ve now made a person’s annual cost of living so much less. If you require someone to drive to get to an affordable housing unit, it’s no longer affordable.”
Meanwhile, the town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has a lending library connected to a progressive halfway house called Tomorrow’s Neighbors. The library provides any of its 20 ebikes for its temporary residents who might be commuting to jobs, looking for work, or simply in need of exercise or recreation.
“In that case, not only is it addressing a transportation need but it’s helping reduce recidivism,” says Michael Galligano, CEO of Shared Mobility, national nonprofit based in Buffalo, New York, that aims to make transportation easier and more equitable.
Smaller cities and towns simply may not have the funds, the initiative, or the interest to install a citywide network of bike-sharing options.
“Having free access to ebikes is not a hard sell,” Galligano says. “But where the rubber meets the pavement is the community helping to organize these programs”
Some places have welcomed dock-free bikeshare companies such as Lime, but those cost a fee to unlock then the user is charged each minute they’re riding
In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a fleet of 100 Tar Heel Bikes—which are provided by Lime competitor Bird—can be found around the town and throughout the campus at UNC–Chapel Hill. However, those cost $1 to unlock plus 29 cents each minute they’re ridden.
On the other hand, the town of Chapel Hill recently announced a free ebike library, which is housed in a pair of local bike shops and is operated by town officials. According to the official announcement, the program was funded through a $129,010 grant from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, along with an additional $50,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act.
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