They’re great for people with mobility issues, which can deter them from trying a regular Divvy bike. They’re good for cyclists in less-dense parts of the city, like the far Northwest, Southwest and Southeast Sides, where there’s a lot of distance between destinations and bike docks. With speeds up to 20 mph, it feels like flying, or riding a quiet Vespa. Ebikes are fun-they give a nice boost when you’re riding in the wind. The ebike looked to be, on the surface, a good thing. Then in the summer of 2020, Divvy started introducing thousands of black and gray electric bikes, or “ebikes.” Electric scooters followed this spring.
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Since my commute from the Northwest Side takes longer than the forty-five minutes allowed for a free ride, I switch bikes halfway through, like a courier changing horses on the Pony Express. When the weather is nice in the morning, but storms are predicted in the afternoon, I’ll take a Divvy to work and the El home. I ride them to and from the train station. I use them to get around the Loop, instead of a cab or an Uber.
A long Divvy commute on a hot day can make you shaky-legged with exhaustion.īut I appreciate their sturdiness and how they can be used to supplement both transit and my own bike. If this bike were a horse, it would be an elderly Clydesdale-strong, heavy, slow, not terribly agile-certainly not suited for racing. Rides up to forty-five minutes are free for members. Started in 2013, the Divvy program used to just have one kind of bike-the people-powered blue, the same color as in the Chicago flag. He adds the new prices “seem to be kneecapping the system.” “It seems like the demise of Divvy as an alternative for commuting,” says Sislow. “It’s absolutely not feasible,” says Joe Sislow, Northwest Side representative for the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council, of Divvy’s new pricing system and the aging of the blue bikes. “If they were to phase out the blue bikes and the price structure is such that it’s mostly aimed at affluent people, then most of the city gets screwed.” “I’m wondering what the city’s endgame is,” says Anne Alt, a Chicago bicyclist. And the fancy new ebikes have gotten awfully expensive under a new pricing structure started this past May.
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They won’t be replaced as they wear out, according to a statement from Lyft, which operates Divvy for the Chicago Department of Transportation. The classic bikes, which are free for Divvy members, are getting old. They’ve been a great option for getting around-it’s like having spare bikes around the city. I’m a longtime bike commuter, and a fan of Chicago’s bike-share program, Divvy, with its big, blue, heavy, classic pedal-powered bikes.
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