Divvy is now operational throughout all of Chicago.
“No matter where you’re traveling to in Chicago, you can get there on a Divvy bike,” DOT Commissioner Gia Biagi said in a statement. “Divvy has become an invaluable part of our city’s transportation network over the last decade. As we work to make Chicago the best big city for biking in the country, we are not only bringing Divvy service to every ward in Chicago, but are continuing to invest in the system, with more bikes and new stations to make bikeshare more convenient and accessible.”
Lyft has installed 100 new bike racks and had 233 existing city bike racks become free Divvy bike parking. If any Chicagoan needs help finding these new bike racks, they can go to the Divvy and Lyft apps or divvybikes.com. Besides that, there will be 3,000 new bikes added to the fleet over the next two riding seasons.
"We have reached an incredible milestone, with Divvy service now available citywide," said Caroline Samponaro, VP of Transit, Bike, and Scooter Policy at Lyft, which will install 250 traditional Divvy stations to expand and densify the network, which will take place over the next two years. "We made a commitment to Chicagoans to expand and modernize Divvy to ensure that it is an affordable and convenient extension of the public transportation network. Today, we deliver on that promise and chart a course for the next round of network improvements."
Chicago's bike network currently includes over 420 miles of on-street bikeways and off-street trails. Since 2019, the network has grown by 100 miles, with almost 75 percent of the growth located on the South and West sides. The fastest growth area has been low-stress bikeways, such as neighborhood greenways, protected bike lanes, and off-street trails.
Brenda Dixon, Secretary of Major Taylor Cycling Club Chicago, was ecstatic.
"We need more than just a beautiful trail, we need a way for people to access and enjoy it — so the expansion of Divvy coverage is great!" Dixon said. "We don’t just advocate for improving the Major Taylor trail; our mission includes improvements and economic development in all the communities and surrounding neighborhoods that touch the trail. Having Divvy bikes in this community is a step in the right direction because more bikes and stations mean more riders and more ways for folks to ride on the South Side.”
In addition to expanding operations citywide as of May 2, Divvy's parent company, Lyft, said it will "continue to strengthen its network with the addition of up to 250 new stations to be installed over the 2023 and 2024 riding seasons," including:
- New stations in the Northwest, Southwest, and Far South Sides of the city to expand stations to new neighborhoods and increase the density of stations in areas already served by Divvy.
- Begin converting e-bike-only parking stations to traditional Divvy stations so that residents will have more options to choose their preferred device, be it a classic bike or an ebike.
- Kicking off an extensive community engagement process to select sites for new stations.
- The addition of nearly 3,000 new classic bikes to the fleet throughout the 2023 and 2024 riding seasons.
Divvy touted itself as "one of the most successful bikeshare programs and the first in the United States to incorporate docked scooters and charging stations."
Last year Divvy had nearly 550,000 unique riders and reached over 43,000 members, thanks to a system with more than 800 stations, and over 15,000 bikes and scooters. By physical size, Divvy is the largest bikeshare system in North America, now covering 234 square miles.
