Popular “Transit” App Now Enables Bypassing the Divvy Kiosk

A new partnership between Divvy and Transit app, you can now get 24-hour Divvy passes and ride codes via smartphone. This means that people who have just signed up for an annual membership won't have to wait for a key to arrive in the mail before they can start using the blue bikes. It also means that folks who want to use bike-share for the day won't have to wait in line at a kiosk to sign up for a pass and check out a bike.

I've been using the Transit app for over a year because it's handy for figuring out the most convenient car-free travel options from wherever you are. It displays the next bus or train departure times for the three stops or stations closest to you in the iPhone notifications area, and many more in the app itself.

If you've just signed up for a Divvy membership and want to start riding now, you can download Transit to Android and iPhone, enter your Divvy account username and password, and request a ride code.

You can then enter that three-digit code into the keypad of a Divvy dock to release a bike, just as you would if you'd signed up for a day pass at the kiosk. Even if you're a longterm member, you can get ride codes via the app, which is handy if you need a bike but don't have your key with you.

Transit will also be timesaver for short-term Divvy users. It eliminates the need to ever wait in line to register for a day pass, as well as the need to re-insert your bank card into a kiosk every time you want to check out a bike during that 24-hour period.

The sign-up process at the kiosks is time-consuming due to slowly responding touch screens, and sometimes there are long lines at the kiosks at popular locations and after special events like music festivals.

A newsletter sent to Divvy members this morning said, "We hope this new feature makes it easier when you forget your key at home, when it isn’t convenient to bring your key out, or if you just prefer to do everything by phone."

When you open the Transit App while you're in Chicago, a new "Unlock & Pay for Divvy Bikes!" banner appears, which leads you to these instructions. If you're not signed in as a Divvy member and you're near a bike-share station, Divvy shows up as a transit option. A button to "Purchase Pass" also appears. If you're signed in, you'll be offered the option to get a ride code.

Divvy general manager Elliot Greenberger said that they'll be upgrading kiosks "later this month and in to June which improves the speed of getting a pass and codes." He said they've redesigned the "kiosk flow" and made improvements to the underlying software.

New software has eliminated a lot of the friction of checking out low-cost public bicycles, but many Chicago streets are still in line for an upgrade.