90 Annual Members Join Divvy Each Day, as System Closes In on 300 Stations

Last Friday, Divvy eclipsed Capital Bikeshare in Washington, D.C., to become the second largest bike-share system in the United States.

Divvy riders have collectively pedaled over 1,100,000 miles since the first trip 91 days ago. The program has been called "transformative," "a great success story," and "a beautiful thing in Bronzeville" and there are now over 8,900 annual members. In the 30-day period ending this Wednesday, an average of more than 90 annual members joined each day, up from an average of about 50 new members in the system's early days. The acceleration in new memberships has tapered recently, with the growth rate steadying over the last two months.

Daily memberships show a similar pattern. From the June 28 launch to July 27, an average of 618 24-hour passes were sold each day. In the following month there were 1,208 passes sold on average each day, then an average of 1,210 passes in the most recent 30-day period.

Divvy is approaching the same number of stations as Citi Bike in New York City, with 271 now online and 300 stations and 3,000 bikes to be installed by the end of September. New York has 330 stations and almost 6,000 bikes.

With nearly 9,000 members in its first three months, Divvy's membership growth has outpaced Capital Bikeshare -- which needed several more months and a Living Social promotion to eclipse the 9,000 member mark. Citi Bike, with more than 80,000 annual members already, is still way out in front.

In terms of ridership, Chicago is also between DC and New York. Divvy saw an average of nearly 6,400 trips per day in the last month. It took Capital Bikeshare nearly two years to reach that level, while Citi Bike users make more than 30,000 trips each day.

Annual members now make a majority of the trips on Divvy. A month ago, daily pass holders took 66 percent of trips but now make less than half, indicating Divvy use is becoming more integral to Chicagoans' daily lives.

In DC, membership growth slows when cold weather arrives but bounces back in the spring. The same will probably happen in Chicago as fall sets in and the final 29 stations are installed.