The Divvy bike sharing system in Chicago has been a phenomenal success supporting over 10 million rides since its launch in 2013. For those of us that have used Divvy the impact to our streets has been nothing sort of amazing. What you may not know however is the positive impact that Divvy has on the underserved and underemployed in our society. ​​

Almost 500 people representing over 100 cities met in Chicago last week to discuss the future of shared transit at the Shared Use Mobility Summit (SUMC). The conference shed light on many changes occurring on our streets including implications of autonomous vehicles, rapid growth in ride  and bike sharing, and changing consumer preferences for automobiles, . 

Executive Director of SUMC, Sharon Feigon started the conference by pointing out that transportation is the #2 household expense in America, averaging 29% of household income. Much of this is driven by the cost of car ownership. She reiterated the mission of the Shared Mobility Use Center: making it possible to live well without owning a car through a multi-modal transit system available for all. ​Those shared modes include car sharing, bike sharing, and ride sharing. 

Last fall, I interviewed the founder of Pittsburgh Bike Share to gain a behind the scenes look at bike sharing. At the time, Pittsburgh Bike Share was only 5 months into operations. ​In this second article on the The Future of Bike Sharing, I checked-in to hear what they have learned after two busy seasons and one winter of operations. Erin Potts, Director of Marketing & Community Outreach shared her perspective on lessons learned as well as the future direction 

Bike sharing in the U.S. has grown dramatically within the last 8 years. According to Metrobike, over 71,000,000 trips on public bikes have occurred in the U.S.A. since 2008. And further innovations in the technology, operations and business models point to additional growth. They also point to different ways that people will interact with bike sharing in the future. 

In this multi-part series, I will look at the innovations and the different system models that are emerging, gain an on-the-ground view from a bike share operator, and solicit the perspective of industry experts. The goal is to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon and direction of bike sharing which is sweeping our streets. 

Pittsburgh Bike Share was launched earlier this year to bring bike sharing to the city of Pittsburgh. In a span of just 5 months, over 40,000 rides occurred in a city noted for its hilly terrain. How was this possible? I interviewed David White, Executive Director of the non-profit Pittsburgh Bike Share to learn more.

Imagine using the same card to ride a Metra train, rent a Divvy bike and hop on a CTA bus. Instead of worrying about managing multiple cards, navigating the options at the bike kiosk, or using the Ventra reader, you simply swipe your card and seamlessly move between transportation options as you need them. Achieving this kind of vision is one of the possibilities that results from integrating transit options. And that type of integration is the focus of the Shared Use Mobility Center (SUMC). 

Started last year, the organization's mission is to connect industry, government and community groups and accelerate the growth of shared mobility for all transit modes. I recently interviewed Sharon Feigon, Executive Director, to learn more about SUMC's impact on expanding mobility