Madison’s B-cycle bike sharing system released an annual report Tuesday, showing that more bikers participated in the third season of the program compared to 2012.
B-cycle is a program allowing Madison residents to rent bikes from 35 stations in the city. Bikers can either purchase an annual membership or rent a bike for a single trip.
Trek Bicycle and the City of Madison agreed upon a five-year partnership in 2011, according to the report. Since the program’s inception, B-cycle riders made over 163,488 trips.
According to the report, ridership increased by 29 percent and bikers made a total of 81,662 trips around the city. B-cycle Program Manager Claire Hurley said in a statement the numbers are “very encouraging.”
“Our goal has always been to get more people on bikes in Madison,” Hurley said in a statement.
Bikers offset 316,807 pounds of carbon, saved 8,848 gallons of gas and burned 3,700 pounds of fat by using B-cycle bikes last year, according to the report.
Although the number of casual users increased, fewer annual members used the rental bikes, according to the report. However, annual members still make the majority of trips.
B-cycle plans on adding five rental stations along University Avenue and 50 bikes to the system in 2014, according to the report. UW Health and UW Credit Union will help sponsor the additions.
