End of the road for Link Dayton Bike Share, though supporters hope it’s just temporary
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A popular local bike share program has ended after nearly a decade serving the community, but while some people were surprised by the move, city leaders said this was the plan all along.
As of Monday, Link Dayton Bike Share had ended its operations after logging more than 120,000 trips and more than 66,000 total unique users since beginning nine years ago. Some hope it's just a temporary suspension, but program leaders said only time will tell.
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"We had run this program, had a start date, and we'll have an end date," said Daniel Cox, the executive director of Bike Miami Valley. "It's currently just being suspended.
"We're looking for a community partner or someone that wants to take on the challenge of a bike share."
Dina Wood, one of the about 8.5% of Americans who doesn't own a car or other motor vehicle, was among the users of the program. Wood said Dayton's bike share was one of the reasons she moved to the Gem City.
"When I see that a city has a bike share or scooter share, it puts a light on in my mind that that city cares about, you know, public transit, not just by buses, but by other ways, too," said Wood.
Rising costs, and a lack of liability insurance, were among the biggest reasons Bike Miami Valley announced the program's suspension last month.
Dayton isn't alone in losing its bike share program, even temporarily.
Earlier this year, Cincinnati City Council restored its suspended bike share program back at a cost of $200,000.
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"We can't be a growing, thriving city if we aren't able to sustain a public bike share," said Cincinnati Councilman Reggie Harris. "I know sometimes in a community we often get met with 'Who rides bikes?' or 'Who cares about bikes?'
"But the reality is that a lot of people in our city ride bikes, and we have a decade's worth of data to support that."
Wood hopes Cincinnati's example will get local gears turning in Dayton.
"I think that definitely it can affect the growth of Dayton among certain populations of people who care about environment, who care about exercise, who care about even family kind of things," said Wood.
