There are now 55 bike share systems across the country Ten years ago, bike share was a novelty in the U.S., with a few thousand bikes in operation. Today, there are 55 systems spread across across the country, with over 42,000 bikes available in cities of all sizes. Over the same decade, however, traffic congestion and vehicle miles have increased faster than ever. So how much is bike share really changing how we get around"
The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) has compiled the most comprehensive bike share study to date, looking at the number of bikes, trips, and systems. The facts prove something you?ve probably witnessed first-hand: U.S. bike share culture is growing at an astounding rate.
But not just the number of systems that?s grown?the dramatic increase in bike share ridership is also notable. Compared to just five years ago, the number of bike share trips nationwide have increased from 2.3 million to over 28 million.
Most of the trips?85 percent?are taken within just five big systems: Citi Bike in New York, Capital Bikeshare in D.C. Citi Bike in Miami, Divvy in Chicago, and Hubway in Boston. And of those cities, New York?s Citi Bike is fueling most of the year-on-year growth. But a total of 28 million rides per year on what?s essentially a brand-new mode of transport for cities is a significant number of trips.

While the growth is impressive, the data leads to more questions about how we?re cho...