Eugene and Springfield’s rentable bike service is reporting another surge in ridership.
PeaceHealth’s blue bike program has recorded more than 150,000 trips since the beginning of January, according to its operator, Cascadia Mobility. That’s a year-over-year increase of around 60,000 trips.
Cascadia Mobility's Executive Director Brodie Hylton said things might've hit a tipping point after recent work to add more bikes and hubs across the cities.
“When people are riding, more people see people riding, which begets more riders," he said. "I think that just opens the doors for more people to try it, when they see more people that look like themselves using bike share."
Hylton said the service will expand again in the coming months to include more of Springfield, as well as the Oakway Center in north Eugene. He predicts that the total number of trips this year could exceed 300,000.
At the same time, however, Hylton said the fleet is nearing the limit of the area it can serve.
"We're very proud of the ridership we're achieving with this fleet, but it's almost eight years old," he said. "It's time to think about what happens next."
Hylton said the program is now working with Lane Transit District, and hoping to secure money from the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund. He said the plan is to study whether to add e-bikes or even scooters to the fleet. A previous pilot project involving scooters ended abruptly in 2023 when the company that owned the scooters and its software went out of business.
Starting this month, PeaceHealth Rides has increased its pricing for individual trips by 50 cents. Costs for monthly subscribers remain the same.
