Kelowna working on launching a dockless bikeshare system this spring

The future is looking promising for a bikeshare system in Kelowna.

After Kelowna City Council heard a proposal for a bikeshare program from Dropbike Inc. yesterday, an agreement will be brought forward for a pilot project.

This is going to be a lot of fun! RT @mattworona: Happy to have received approval from council to bring forward an agreement with @getdropbike to operate a dockless bikeshare system in #Kelowna this spring. pic.twitter.com/ltckpJdGKl

— Tourism Kelowna (@Tourism_Kelowna) January 23, 2018

The pilot would begin in the spring of 2018 and would last for 18 months.

The system council is looking at adopting is a dockless bikeshare program that is less costly to introduce. According to the report to council, docks are the most expensive part of a bikeshare program. The report estimates the cost of installing docks at up to $3,500 per bike.

Thanks to @eva_toronto for snapping this 📸 of our fleet kickin' it in #Kingston!

A post shared by Dropbike (@getdropbike) on Nov 28, 2017 at 6:11am PST

Bike sharing allows people to rent a bike from one location and return it to one of many, pre-determined spots within the city called “havens.”

The city is developing a criteria for placement of haven locations in Kelowna, but the aim is to have the bikeshare system complement the public transit system.

Damn @julianloveslife, back at it again with the orange #dropbike!

A post shared by Dropbike (@getdropbike) on Oct 26, 2017 at 5:53am PDT

Users of Dropbike find a bike through a smartphone app and scan the QR code to unlock it. When the user is finished with the bike, it is parked at any haven location, marked both on the app and physically on the parking location. The cost to rent the bike is $1 per hour.

At the beginning of the pilot, about 500 bikes are expected to be deployed. The plan is to then add more bikes later on in the pilot if they see the demand for them.

Some of the benefits of a bikeshare program outlined in the report included better access to transit, the support of climate change and land use planning, increased road safety, and less traffic congestion.